Welcome to the October edition of the LWD Art Appreciation series! This month we will explore the talents of James Baldwin, J.M.W. Turner, and Billy Strayhorn. Then we’ll enjoy a fun Cary Grant and Irene Dunne film.
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ART APPRECIATION
OCTOBER 2024
SHORT STORY
Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin
Impassioned tales of human experience that reach the soul.
Racism, Jazz, and James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues”
ARTIST
J.M.W. Turner
In the work of Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) lies an impact akin to a sudden acquisition of sight. His landscapes and seascapes scorch the eye with such ravishing light and color, with such elemental force, it is as if the sun itself were gleaming out of the frame.
Appropriately known as “the painter of light,” Turner worked in print, watercolor, and oils to transform landscape from serene contemplative scenes to pictures pulsating with life. He anchored his work to the River Thames and to the sea, but in the historical context of the Industrial Revolution, also integrated boats, trains, and other markers of human activity, which juxtaposes the thrust of civilization against the forces of nature.
JAZZ COMPOSER
Billy Strayhorn
Billy Strayhorn is one of the greatest composers in the history of American music. A virtuoso pianist, lyricist, and orchestrator, he is best known for his 28-year collaboration with the jazz icon Duke Ellington, from 1939 to his untimely death in 1967. Strayhorn’s distinct style was prevalent anywhere Duke Ellington’s music was heard. In fact, Strayhorn was a trendsetter who inspired countless legends with his forward-thinking melodies, lyrics and orchestrations, which have contributed greatly to the sound of modern jazz and the Great American Songbook.
Spotify Playlist:
Lush Life
SCREWBALL COMEDY
In this Oscar-winning farce, Cary Grant (in the role that first defined the Cary Grant persona) and Irene Dunne exude charm, cunning, and artless affection as an urbane couple who, fed up with each other’s infidelities, resolve to file for divorce. But try as they might to move on, the mischievous Jerry can’t help meddling in Lucy s ill-matched engagement to a corn-fed Oklahoma businessman (Ralph Bellamy), and a mortified Lucy begins to realize that she may be saying goodbye to the only dance partner capable of following her lead. Directed by the versatile Leo McCarey, a master of improvisation and slapstick as well as a keen and sympathetic observer of human folly, THE AWFUL TRUTH is a warm but unsparing comedy about two people whose flaws only make them more irresistible.
You can watch the trailer here.
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If you have any favorites to recommend for future Art Appreciation posts feel free to share in the comments!
LINKS TO PREVIOUS ART APPRECIATION POSTS…
JANUARY:
LWD Classic Film of the Month ~ Breakfast at Tiffany’s
LWD Artist of the Month ~ Manet
LWD Composer of the Month ~ Vivaldi
FEBRUARY:
LWD Classic Film of the Month ~ A Raisin in the Sun
LWD Poet of the Month ~ Langston Hughes
LWD Artist of the Month ~ Degas
LWD Composer of the Month ~ Chopin
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