Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Jack Vettriano - Round Midnight

‘My paintings are about things I have done and things I wish I could do. They are about a bunch of sad, unhappy people who are driven by lust’ (Jack Vettriano)

Jack Vettriano, 53, has always been something of an outsider in the art establishment, his slightly cloying style being at odds with the edginess of contemporary art, but also falling short of more classical standards. Vettriano is entirely self-taught. A Scotsman of Italian descent, he began his career as a mining engineer working down the Fife coalfields. His works have this nostalgic feel about the past. It almost seems that he has spent his life wistfully looking back, living more for a darker yesterday rather that for brighter tomorrow. Vettriano himself tends to describe his paintings as akin to pulp fiction novel covers and railway posters of the 1950s, his images have an often-mysterious narrative and are a gateway to an alluring yet sinister world. Daylight scenes of heady optimism, painted against backdrops of beaches and racetracks, are counterbalanced by more disquieting canvases of complex night-time liaisons in bars, clubs, bedrooms and ballrooms*. Vettriano’s works expose a ‘cool, sharp world of edgy romance and sexual tension. He has the ability to make you feel nostalgic for things you never actually experienced in the first place.’* And this is exactly what attracted me: the narrative quality of his work it is like reading a book, your mind puts together the scene as described by the author, enabling the viewer to engage with the painting and then develop it.

*Anthony Quinn, 2004.

*Sir Timothy Rice.

12 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

Never heard the name before, but I'm already loving that work of art. And the painting's not so bad either.

4:03 PM  
Blogger Melinda said...

Very noir. It feels to me a little like a naughty Hopper, just a bit.

Arigatou for the conjugation notes!

10:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

For me, Vettriano's wistful, evocative paintings are far more 'art' than all the rubbish the art school graduates insist on ramming down our throats. Art should inspire emotion and feeling, not a sense of general boredom, so for me, Vettriano succeeds, where the graduates fail.

10:57 PM  
Blogger Talamasca said...

New to my ears as well. But yeah, the piece of art work sure is interesting.

5:13 AM  
Blogger Melinda said...

What the hell, Shaman, himitsu ni nihongo o benkyoushiteiru ka naaaa. (I wonder if you've been studying nihongo behind my back.) You really surprised me there! I clapped.

Watshi mo ii mono ga suki da yo. Toku ni tabemono to nomimono (especially food and drink), but of course you already knew that.

Okay, a bit off topic, but I know you don't mind that, so...

Have you ever boo-ed at a live performance? If yes, when? If no, ever wanted to?

5:15 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm not the Shaman, but I remeber booing at an early performance by Joy Division because they were so bad. I saw them a year later and they had transformed into one of the great rock bands. That's the booing that stands out to me because I didn't see any of their potential at the time.

10:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anon, didn't Ian Curtis encourage that kind of behaviour?

Don't think I've ever booed any live bands, although I seen a few bad ones...too respectful/timid to do that, even if they sometimes deserve it

10:41 PM  
Blogger Shaman Dandulla said...

Oh Yes! Plenty of time, and although I prefer shouting BRAVOOOO, I have both silently and wholeheartedly booed at a live performance!!
I’ll think of one precise event and come back to you Melinda..

11:08 PM  
Blogger Melinda said...

Ha, ha - I've never boo-ed before, but I'm pretty sure I've wanted to. My partner did it for the first time last year at a performance of Lulu and said it was the most liberating experience of his life, like a dream come true or something.

5:05 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

its a fantastic painting,i bet all those sad people who slam his work have never painted anything themselves, and have no idea at all about artistic brilliance and feelings.

11:39 AM  
Blogger tommythepainter said...

its a fantastic painting, i bet half the people who slam his paintings have never painted anything in their sad little lives and have no feeling for true artistic brilliance. tom mcivor.

11:58 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I thinks Jack's paintings are really exceptional. Every one I've seen I have liked. This painting makes one think they are some sort of voyeur peaking into a world forbidden to them. I hope he goes on to paint many more.

11:08 AM  

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