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Ich wünsche mit Personen in Verbindung kommen, die dieselbe künstlerische Interesse wie ich haben. Deshalb habe ich daran gedacht, den ersten Schritt zu machen, und regelmäßig über meine letzte Arbeitsvorgänge zu berichten.
     
Started:
last update July 18, 2004
 Finished:
April 8 , 2004 : "America III, Medusa" - Acrylic on wood panel - 110x80
July 18, 2004
 
 
The idea

 
Click the image to see the evolution of that initial sketch.

April 8

Initially I wanted to paint Time Square as an obnoxious symbol of the USA, immediately interpretable advertising image of both the best and the worse of America at its pinnacle.
Therefore it should be combined with the Star Spangled Banner, using the red and white ribbons to swirl around the buildings, and the many stars in the dark blue sky on top.
A few years ago I took many photos of Time Square, day and night. So I had a lot of material to work with.

I have been thinking about that painting for more than 3 years (since I finished America II, following America I, both of which I sold (sadly) to very good friends - click the photos below left and right to enlarge) because several other friends wanted to acquire some other work on the same theme: metaphoric American flag.

Recently one of them reminded me of the project and I suddenly started sketching and gluing cut-ups of photos on a sheet of paper.

America I, The Melting Pot
Click to enlarge

April 12

As I was sketching the idea developed further in my mind. Fundamentally I am not a friend of advertising and many years ago I wrote this aphorism:

"Advertising and censorship are the two sides of the same coin."

They both deprive you of the freedom to choose.
The metaphoric idea of the piece emerged:
Advertising as the octopus which devores freedom represented by a broken statue of Liberty laying on the ground under. The red and white ribbons of the flag are the arms of the octopus!
The title shall be: "Medusa" whose legend is pertinent here. Meduse is the french name for jellyfish.

How America II was madeThe story of America II

May 10

I chose two symbols of American culture: Marilyn Monroe and
Dizzy Gillespie.The sucking cups of the octopus could be made
of $ signs
on gold cups.

America II, Liberty
Click to enlarge


 

Final sketch - click it to enlarge
Execution    

June 17
I prepared a wood panel of 110x80 and started tracing the main elements:
- the broken statue of Liberty
- Dizzy Gillepsy blowing his horn
- Marylin Monroe blowing her skirt on the subway air shaft
- then the blue head of the jellyfish floating above the Time Square skyscarpers
- the building are covered with advertising messages

June 26
At right is where I stand on this day.

 

 




June 29
The positions of the red and white tentacles is almost done - I think.
Adjustments shall maybe come when the statue and Dizzy are painted.
I added a round gold disk with a red $ sign in the center of the stars representing the sucking cups on the tentacles.

July 3
Started Dizzy's portrait

 


 

July 6
Still on Dizzy's portraits - almost done.

July 8
Working on Liberty's face, book and torch.



July 14
Made a few changes and started setting the stars in the sky and on the blue fabric.
I decided to abandon the idea of putting sucking cups on the tentacles. It would be too clumsy. Instead I created more volume in the red and white stripes, and that makes them look more like live tentacles.
Chiselled the text on the book:

"ADERTISING & CENSORSHIP ARE THE TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN"


Watch all the intermediate steps and details

July 18
That's it. America II is finished.

Oct. 13
Well, it was not totally finished - Yesterday I decided to add sucking cups on the lower parts of the red tentacles of the octopus. (Far right)


Enlarged photos and details of the final state