Dave Vormittag wrote four original musical compositions based on four paintings that I did a number of years ago. The paintings are done in a Cubist style that is reminiscent of the Futurists of Italy. A CD with the four musical tracks and a multimedia track was released in November, 1996. Steve Duncan produced the CD art wich included reproduction of the four paintings and statements by Dave and myself. Steve Roberts produced the multimedia track wich is available as a shockwave file.
St. Joan was burned at the stake because she said she talked to God. I painted St. Joan for a woman that I wanted to burn at the stake. When I see that painting , when I look at those sharp triangles, I think of the fires of hell. That's what they are. The pointy fires of hell burning the twisting St. Joan.
Paul
Big Penis is the second painting of the series. I think it is, stylistically, most sympathetic to those whom I was trying to emulate: the Furturists of Italy. Russolo and Boccioni. The subject is simple : I am obsessed by sex. The painting is plain speaking. It makes me laugh. Sex usually makes me laugh. ( I am reminded of a poster which featured a still from Pasolini's Arabian Nights where a naked woman sits spread-legged waiting for her lover to shoot her in the cunt with literally a penis arrow. That makes me laugh. )
Paul
Yukio Mishima, as a teen, stumbled across a painting of Sebastian pierced by arrows and was overwhelmed by the eroticism of the image. To me the static rendition I am most attracted to is the Mantegna. But I wanted to capture the duration of such a martyrdom. Although unreal, I imagine geysers of blood erupting from Sebastian's wounds as he writhes.
Paul
The last painting of the series. Visually the least pleasing but full of meaning. I like to hang it by the dinner table. There while I feel the pressure on my abdomen, I feel the slicing of the knife. There is a certain purity of action of a very sharp knife cutting into the smooth, hairless flesh of Mishima. I am reminded of Bataille's eroticism of death. The (unreal) image of blood and entrails bursting from the smooth plain of the belly is very vivid.
Paul
Mail: Dave Vormittag, Steve Duncan