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May 04, 2009
Six Degrees of Francis Bacon
Robbi and I have been asked by the folks at the Rose O'Neill Literary House at Washington College to imagine and produce a mural in the house's entry room. As is our fashion, we pursued the most complex and time-consuming idea that we could think of. It is titled Six Degrees of Francis Bacon.
Rather than reinvent the wheel, I'll share the press release, which gives a pretty good idea of what we're up to:
Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr of Idiots'Books are in the process of creating a mural that will greet Lit House visitors with a satirical take on history of the written word. Taking its cue from the popular game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon", the mural functions as an elaborate web of literary associations. Robbi will paint portraits of fifty or so major writers on the four walls and ceiling of the Lit House entrance room. Each writer will be connected to various others with language describing the relationship. For example, Leo Tolstoy will be connected to Walt Whitman with the phrase, "won a beard-growing contest with," and Charles Dickens will be connected to Phillip Roth with the words, "accidentally sang a Christmas carol to".
By way of disclaimer, the mural makes no claim to accuracy, comprehensiveness, or fussy deference to the history of literature. A few of the writers featured include Shakespeare the Marquis de Sade, J.K. Rowling, John Barth, Danielle Steel, Ernest Hemmingway, the dude who wrote Beowulf, and yes, Francis Bacon.
Please join us at 2:30pm on May 16th, when the completed mural will be unveiled on the occasion of John' Barth's reading.
One of Robbi's tasks while I am in Kansas City has been to render all 49 portraits, to lay out the mural in a page-layout program, and now, starting today at 2:00, to paint the sucker with the help of a small army of Washington College students.
In her fashion, Robbi has been staying up all night to get her prep work done. To give you a glimpse into the mind of the artist, I will document my email inbox as it greeted me this morning.
1:54am: email from Robbi containing portrait of Mark Twain
2:09am: email from Robbi containing portrait of Danielle Steel (containing unprintable editorial comment about the portrait's subject)
2:32am: email from Robbi containing portrait of Murasaki Shikibu (who wrote Tale of Genji)
2:46am: email from Robbi containing portrait of James Joyce
3:05am: email from Robbi containing portrait of Stephen King
3:24am: email from Robbi containing portrait of The Dude Who Wrote Beowulf
4:45am: email from Robbi containing portrait of William Shakespeare
5:10am: email from Robbi containing portrait of Allen Ginsberg
5:53am: email from Robbi containing portrait of Walt Whitman
6:14am: email from Robbi containing portrait of Samuel Beckett
6:28am: email from Robbi containing portrait of Edgar Allan Poe
6:47am: email from Robbi containing portrait of Ernest Hemingway
7:21am: email from Robbi containing portrait of Henry David Thoreau
At this point, the flow of emails suddenly stopped, which leads me to believe that Robbi is slumped in her painting chair in a deep and dreamless slumber. When she will emerge is not known. But what gifts she has left us in the night.
I marvel at the sheer productivity can transpire when you steal an artist's baby, give her a Cintiq, and put no limits on her ice cream consumption.
Stop by the Lit House after May 16th to see these and the other 36 portraits in full painted glory. And come read the story of how they are connected. And if you happen to be in Chestertown at 2:30 on May 16, come hear a reading by the legendary John Barth, one of the most important literary voices of the 20th Century. He, too, has a role to play in Six Degrees of Francis Bacon.
Posted by bogenamp at May 4, 2009 10:05 AM