salomeU2000
The Fly
[SIMG]http://bonovox.interference.com/experience/christiesignthumb.gif[/SIMG]
By Devlin Smith
2003.10
Bono's not a great artist, I'm not saying that to be mean or dismissive, it's just true. When I was viewing the 16 paintings and studies Bono, with help from daughters Jordan and Eve, created for the new "Peter & The Wolf" book and CD set, a few people came in less than impressed. For someone coming in off the street who didn't know who Bono is (which is possible) or what the art project entails, it probably did look like just another modern art show, intense, loose, jumbled doodlings, not pretty, not soothing and definitely not like anything from the Thomas Kinkade collection.
But because I do know who Bono is and am familiar with the "Peter & The Wolf" project (sales of the book/CD set, catalogs and artwork all benefiting the Irish Hospice Foundation), this wasn't just stuff, the artistic minglings of a bored, self-important celebrity, these 16 pieces were so revealing. Like with his music, in these works, Bono was truly putting his soul to paper.
Each black on white painting, some nearly 20 feet across, is filled with little messages and symbols and jokes from the Bono lexicon. His Peter is a self-portrait, the artist as "Baked Bean Boy," a character falling somewhere between a small child stepping out on his first grand adventure and the Bono of today, complete with Fly glasses, earring and scarred chin. Like in the self-portraits he creates for fans, this Peter/Bono is simplified down to the barest elements - round face, large pointed nose, line mouth and, of course, the shades.
It's hard to make too many judgments on the deeper meaning of this Peter since I haven't yet seen this completed version (accompanied by music created by Gavin Friday and Maurice Seezer), but it is interesting that the main character of the story was brought together in that simple way.
By contrast, though, Grandfather, shown in two solo studies and one large panel, is so beautifully detailed. Modeled after Bono's late father, this character has the most amazing face. Where Peter is just a few simple shapes, Grandfather's face is made up of an intricate series of lines and swirls and various shapes. This is the one character that truly shows emotion, in one study stern, in another somewhat sad. He's also caring. In the one panel showing Peter and Grandfather together, Grandfather has his arm around Peter and the tiny boy looks up to him, smiling and protected.
This project is, in many ways, about Bono's father. IHF offered to care for Bob Hewson when he was ill. In the introduction to the "Peter & The Wolf" catalog Bono talks about his father, his love of music, his "bad back and bad temper." Bono also explains why his father was chosen the model for Grandfather: "My Da we made the grandfather, as he was to Jordan and Eve, my two daughters who loved and were loved by him." And though it doesn't say, he was loved by his son as well.
Next month Christie's in New York will auction off the paintings, proceeds benefiting IHF. From there 16 works of art will find new homes, hopefully to be appreciated as more than a celebrity collectible or charitable donation, but as this moment in Bono's family that he shared with all of us - the time he spent with his daughters as they added hundreds of flowers to one panel, their little touches added to various other works in the exhibit, and this project in honor of a loved one. If I had the money, the time and the connections to attend the auction, I would be thrilled to have any of these pieces in my house, but I don't. I do have the catalog, my own pictures and those couple of minutes spent at Christie's Beverly Hills auction house, carefully taking in each of these paintings and feeling that little bit closer to one of my favorite people.
"Peter & The Wolf: Paintings and Works on Paper by Bono with Jordan and Eve" is on display at Christie's in Los Angeles through October 15. Christie's New York will be displaying the exhibit on November 21 in advance on that night's auction. For more information on this project visit www.peterwolf.org .
Photos courtesy: ?2003 Devlin Smith for Interference.com
By Devlin Smith
2003.10
Bono's not a great artist, I'm not saying that to be mean or dismissive, it's just true. When I was viewing the 16 paintings and studies Bono, with help from daughters Jordan and Eve, created for the new "Peter & The Wolf" book and CD set, a few people came in less than impressed. For someone coming in off the street who didn't know who Bono is (which is possible) or what the art project entails, it probably did look like just another modern art show, intense, loose, jumbled doodlings, not pretty, not soothing and definitely not like anything from the Thomas Kinkade collection.
But because I do know who Bono is and am familiar with the "Peter & The Wolf" project (sales of the book/CD set, catalogs and artwork all benefiting the Irish Hospice Foundation), this wasn't just stuff, the artistic minglings of a bored, self-important celebrity, these 16 pieces were so revealing. Like with his music, in these works, Bono was truly putting his soul to paper.
Each black on white painting, some nearly 20 feet across, is filled with little messages and symbols and jokes from the Bono lexicon. His Peter is a self-portrait, the artist as "Baked Bean Boy," a character falling somewhere between a small child stepping out on his first grand adventure and the Bono of today, complete with Fly glasses, earring and scarred chin. Like in the self-portraits he creates for fans, this Peter/Bono is simplified down to the barest elements - round face, large pointed nose, line mouth and, of course, the shades.
It's hard to make too many judgments on the deeper meaning of this Peter since I haven't yet seen this completed version (accompanied by music created by Gavin Friday and Maurice Seezer), but it is interesting that the main character of the story was brought together in that simple way.
By contrast, though, Grandfather, shown in two solo studies and one large panel, is so beautifully detailed. Modeled after Bono's late father, this character has the most amazing face. Where Peter is just a few simple shapes, Grandfather's face is made up of an intricate series of lines and swirls and various shapes. This is the one character that truly shows emotion, in one study stern, in another somewhat sad. He's also caring. In the one panel showing Peter and Grandfather together, Grandfather has his arm around Peter and the tiny boy looks up to him, smiling and protected.
This project is, in many ways, about Bono's father. IHF offered to care for Bob Hewson when he was ill. In the introduction to the "Peter & The Wolf" catalog Bono talks about his father, his love of music, his "bad back and bad temper." Bono also explains why his father was chosen the model for Grandfather: "My Da we made the grandfather, as he was to Jordan and Eve, my two daughters who loved and were loved by him." And though it doesn't say, he was loved by his son as well.
Next month Christie's in New York will auction off the paintings, proceeds benefiting IHF. From there 16 works of art will find new homes, hopefully to be appreciated as more than a celebrity collectible or charitable donation, but as this moment in Bono's family that he shared with all of us - the time he spent with his daughters as they added hundreds of flowers to one panel, their little touches added to various other works in the exhibit, and this project in honor of a loved one. If I had the money, the time and the connections to attend the auction, I would be thrilled to have any of these pieces in my house, but I don't. I do have the catalog, my own pictures and those couple of minutes spent at Christie's Beverly Hills auction house, carefully taking in each of these paintings and feeling that little bit closer to one of my favorite people.
"Peter & The Wolf: Paintings and Works on Paper by Bono with Jordan and Eve" is on display at Christie's in Los Angeles through October 15. Christie's New York will be displaying the exhibit on November 21 in advance on that night's auction. For more information on this project visit www.peterwolf.org .
Photos courtesy: ?2003 Devlin Smith for Interference.com
Last edited:
