Bush Influences: Art



Francis BaconAllen GinsbergJeanette WintersonJoel-Peter Witkin

Francis Bacon  1909-1992.

Bacon was a British painter whose work depicted friends in a variety of distorted or anguished poses, usually within the setting of a confined interior space. Drawing from many cultural sources, including literature, film, photography and other paintings, he ripped through all that is superficial to explore themes of angst and human suffering. The last image below is one of many self-portraits.
Click on the thumbnails for enlargements.

                                                                    

In 1996, Gavin bought some lithographs from the Malborough Gallery in NYC, the leading dealer of Bacon's work. He has been quoted as saying his goal is to write songs the way Bacon paints and, in an MTV Online interview, said: "he represents to me everything that I hold truest about what I do". The "Comedown" video uses the acidic colours, wrestling figures & confined, box-type rooms which are a recurring image in Bacon's work (it also features a Bacon look-alike). Another repeated theme is Bacon's fascination with the human mouth, particularly it screaming. Amongst his best known paintings, a version of which Bush used onstage on the 16 Stone 'Screaming Pope' Tour, is "Study after Velasquesz's Portrait of Pope Innocent X"(image #2 above). The "mouth" image is one repeated in numerous Bush lyrics, most notably the song, er, well..."Mouth".




Allen Ginsberg 1926-1997;/font>

Ginsberg was an American poet whose life and work touched many and gave him a thick file at FBI headquarters. Part of the American "Beat" poetry movement in the 50's, he continued to produce and perform vibrant, soul-searching, love-affirming poetry until his death this year. The musicians he influenced ranged from Bush favourites Bob Dylan to The Clash, whose "Combat Rock" album and tour he appeared on.
The beginning of one of Ginsberg's best known poems, Howl, is quoted in various forms during Bush's "Machinehead".

Click on the book for a transcript.

"Howl is an affirmation of individual experience of God, sex, drugs, absurdity, etc." Allen Ginsberg.

Some of my fave Ginsberg Sites:
Ashes and Bluesbeautiful site with lots of links and notes.
Essays on Howl
Ginsberg Writes about Howl
Howl typescript
Allen Ginsberg Pagebiography, links & more.






more to come...one day...maybe...though if you're curious, just go to your nearest search engine and punch in these names: Jeanette Winterson (passages from her writing have been quoted in various Bush songs; a line in "Sexing the Cherry" inspired "you'll get what you bring", for eg.) As for Joel-Peter Witkin-he's a photographer-mainly b/w stuff; the butterfly lady ('Bird of Quevada'/1982) which flashes in the Machinehead video is one of his images. Another photographer gavin has cited is Robert Mapplethorpe, and he dabbles abit in photography himself.




This page hosted by get your own free home page