Franz Kline ~ Reprised and with a Mind Open to all Kinds of Things

Okay, this is just not a reprised piece from our archives. I've decided to include some additional content that I came across while trolling the internet. Voice from the Couch knew that I wouldn't be able not to add to this site. Here's a nugget from Crown Point Press ~ well worth the five minutes.



Franz Kline 1959, Steve Martin 1981 ~ Rue  originally posted 02/05/09



This piece by Franz Kline, famous Abstract Expressionist painter, is entitled Rue (on loan to the Portland Art Museum from a private collection). Like his other paintings, Rue is the result of Kline having lived for many years in New York. He said that the feelings aroused in him by seeing the city for so long was what he painted. Although some abstract expressionist painters of his day left their paintings untitled. Kline chose to name many of them. Just before his first one man show he asked Willem and Elaine De Kooning to help him name his paintings. "[I]n a spirit of levity with a bottle of scotch on the table," was how Elaine would later describe the eight hour naming session. My own mind turns over the word rue and I chuckle thinking about the person who rues the day that he ate the rue he had found on the "rue".

Kline definitely belongs to the sub-group of abstract expressionists known as action painters. In my reading I found this quote from his friend Philip Pavia , "When I would visit Kline in his studio, he had stretched a large canvas on the wall, and underneath he would push with his feet a wood beer box to a certain spot. After a few trials and errors, he fixed the box into a right spot. He then slanted a plank from the floor with one end on the beer crate. A temporary ramp. Coming up the plank and down the plank, he slanted his brushstrokes for long strokes or short ones, and some of them were very loaded with paint."

Although Kline's paintings were the result of the emotions the city aroused in him and he didn't care to be in his painting, one owner of Rue did say that he could see himself in it. Steve Martin is listed as being the previous owner of this painting and had always said that he wanted to be part of it. The Portland Art Museum is also exhibiting the photo Annie Leibovitz took of Steve Martin in Beverly Hills when he posed for his portrait. Complete with black brushstrokes on his white suit, Martin realized his dream. A companion photo appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.

Franz Kline 1959, Steve Martin 1981 – Rue

This piece by Franz Kline, famous Abstract Expressionist painter, is entitled Rue (on loan to the Portland Art Museum from a private collection). Like his other paintings, Rue is the result of Kline having lived for many years in New York. He said that the feelings aroused in him by seeing the city for so long was what he painted. Although some abstract expressionist painters of his day left their paintings untitled. Kline chose to name many of them. Just before his first one man show he asked Willem and Elaine De Kooning to help him name his paintings. "[I]n a spirit of levity with a bottle of scotch on the table," was how Elaine would later describe the eight hour naming session. My own mind turns over the word rue and I chuckle thinking about the person who rues the day that he ate the rue he had found on the "rue".

Kline definitely belongs to the sub-group of abstract expressionists known as action painters. In my reading I found this quote from his friend Philip Pavia , "When I would visit Kline in his studio, he had stretched a large canvas on the wall, and underneath he would push with his feet a wood beer box to a certain spot. After a few trials and errors, he fixed the box into a right spot. He then slanted a plank from the floor with one end on the beer crate. A temporary ramp. Coming up the plank and down the plank, he slanted his brushstrokes for long strokes or short ones, and some of them were very loaded with paint."

Although Kline's paintings were the result of the emotions the city aroused in him and he didn't care to be in his painting, one owner of Rue did say that he could see himself in it. Steve Martin is listed as being the previous owner of this painting and had always said that he wanted to be part of it. The Portland Art Museum is also exhibiting the photo Annie Leibovitz took of Steve Martin in Beverly Hills when he posed for his portrait. Complete with black brushstrokes on his white suit, Martin realized his dream. A companion photo appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.

Fractured French and an Opportunity to Draw

Knowing I'd have to tell people about the art work of the week "Nature's Fan" and who painted it, I decided to learn how to pronounce Bouguereau's name. That turned into quite a search on the "internets".

Many web sites set out to help all of us non-French speakers learn to pronounce the eleven letters in his name.
Portrait Artist Forum has a great discussion on pronunciation of both Bouguereau and chiaroscuro.
"Boo-jer-oh"
"Booj-row"
"Bu-jer-o"
"Boo-garo"
"Boo-ger-ew"
"Bo-ger-o"
"Bo-ger-ew"

Pronounce It Right even has an audio. If I were to do a phonetic, it would look like...
"Boo grow"
or as others have written...
"boo ger oh.."

And from the Concept Art Forum any number of people weigh in but this one comment caught my eye:
Rebecca is close, even if the "gue" is the most difficult part, due to the way French people pronounciate the "E". Said quickly, his name sound close to "'Boo-gro" as said by Midnight. Maybe the most natural way for be understood by French people ?

While checking other sites for pronunciation tips, I ended up finding out how people are approaching their art studies. On WetCanvas, CareyG announced that she had decided to copy some of the great masters to improve her skills. Her first choice was Van Gogh (that name is certainly pronounced many different ways by many different people) and her second was Bouguereau. I find it fascinating how artists learn by imitating. That reminds me that second Sunday is coming up. The Portland Art Museum offers drawing classes before the museum opens. The public can learn techniques from an instructor and "discover the age-old tradition of drawing from masterworks".

My husband and I started to laugh when discussing Boo gro and he remembered a Steve Martin truism...

On the French:
"In French, oeuf means egg, cheese is fromage... it's like those French have a different word for everything."

12.24.09

n.b. Voice from the Couch wishes to clarify that he is the "husband" mentioned here.