The Painted Word

What I saw before me was the critic-in-chief of The New York Times saying…in short: frankly, these days, without a theory to go with it, I can’t see a painting.~ Tom Wolfe

Pierre Bonnard predicted he’d appear
before the artists of our century
encircled in a wing-like filigree
of colored light. A mystic chevalier
exuding his incalculable pallet
as a benediction, he’d survey
the produce of the studios that day,
the fruit of every flashing brush and mallet.

He’d find out there’s a ton of shit to read.
A lexicon of abstracts to peruse,
a currency of theory and critique,
and creedos tacked to canvases with screws.
To glean a universal through the screed,
he’d need to book the hotel for a week.
____
Painting:Bonnard Appears, John Opie, Oil on cavas, 42″ x 69″

Advertisement