Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Minipix -The Moonbridge

This is for now my final 'Minipix'. As I mentioned yesterday, i intend to produce some of my more surrealist type images which I love to do. However, I would like to dwell on this composition a little longer. Many years ago ( about 1978), there was a musical version of the HG Wells story 'War Of The Worlds' you'll probably have heard some of the songs from the album version at some point (Justin Hayward: Forever Autumn)..whilst listening to a passage of instrumental music called 'The Red Weed' I had a vivid picture spring up in my mind. I immediately sketched this and produced 'The Moon Bridge'. I went on to produce several versions including a 3D model, paintings, drawings and even a whole room mural for my good friends Margret and Graham. The picture shows two people atop a ruined bridge that once upon a time carried forbidden lovers across the sea to another land of sanctuary where they could live happily ever after.The couple in the picture had escaped the disapproval of their respective families and set out on a long quest to find the fabled Moonbrige, only to find that it had fallen to ruin many years before.

Then whilst reading about Georges Seurat, I came upon the image you see below. 'Le Bec Du Hoc, Grandcamp' painted in 1885 looked familiar.(what do you think?)

Now it is entirely possible I had seen this at some point and subconsciously remembered it. But I have no recollection of seeing it prior to my drawing it. I however take this as yet another similarity between the way I think and that of Seurat. Incidentally, upon reading the Tate Gallery's description of this painting (Where this painting is exhibited)..the author points out that 'Pointillism' is actually a 'popularised' description of the style and is in fact incorrect. Seurat and his contemporaries referred to the technique as 'Divisionalist'...that would make me a 'Hyperdivionalist'.


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, the similarity is striking! You are reminding me of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and the Richard Dreyfuss character's visions of the Devils Tower.

Niall young said...

YES!...Richard Dreyfuss is one of my favourite actors...I should have recognised what's happening here!....owever I've not made a mashed potato Moonbridge yet!

Bobkat said...

It IS amazsing what the subconscious can pick up without us realising it but at the same time the fact that it came forward to the conscious mind does suggest the similarity of thought with Seurat (whose work I also love).

I must say that I really really love this mini pix of yours. Something about it really speaks to me. I am also being a great fan of Jeff Waynes musical version of WOTW and could immediately see how fitting this image is. Wonderful! I am tempted to ask you how much for it!

Devil Mood said...

Niall, that picture is more beautiful than my mind could have ever imagined! Anyway, thank you, thank you! You might just have inspired me...
And I truly believe in some collective unconscious or some kind of past-life memory.

Nessa said...

I love the curve of the bridge and the stories that go along with the painting.

Jonice said...

You know Niall, all along your publishing these minipix I thought how lucky I was because nobody would ask me to choose just one, which meant I could love them all! And now I can't take my eyes off this moonbridge! I really think it's my favourite in every tiny detail...
Le Bec Du Roc doesn't show on my PC but I'll see it elsewhere later. I'm very atracted to these "déjà vu" feelings stuff, it's so amazing, isn't it?
Last but not least, I think it's so nice of you to show your sketches above, it enlarges even more the enjoyability (I don't know if this word exists, if it didn't, it does now anyway, lol) of you art work. You're but generous doing that!
:)