« Fighting Elegy on DVD, 3/20/05 | Main | Los Angeles, 3/24/05 - 3/28/05 »
March 21, 2005
Balthus at the City College campus, 3/19/05
Well I went to a lecture about Balthus in French and think I understood about 2 or 3% of the info, but the slides were great. At best, Balthus is uncomfortable and "The Guitar Lesson" is a perversion of the Pieta that still sits uneasily on the side of childhood sexuality. He's also got a playful side but most of his stuff seems to be vaguely erotic positions of underage girls in awkward positions taking naps or reading.
Maybe I would have been more comfortable if I had understood more of the lecture, but these paintings are a bit much. He was an attractive man and Man Ray sure made him look that way. Not sure what to make of these paintings, but it was still a great time eating tamponade and figuring it out.
I usually don't do this, but here's some links.
"The Guitar Lesson": www.nelepets.com/art/images/artists/internet-A-B/balthus%20the%20guitar%20lesson1934.jpg
"The Mediteranee's Cat": www.geocities.com/maroud_99/Balthus.jpg
Not sure what this one is called: www.audioplus-french-lessons-online.com/EXPO/Balthus_Les_beaux_jours.gif
The man himself, a portrait by Man Ray: www.randomhouse.com/boldtype/1099/foxweber/jpgs/balthus.photo4.jpg
Posted by deaconmf at March 21, 2005 11:46 AM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)