Larry was born in Bronx, New York, the United States on August 17, 1923. Larry was an American artist, musician, filmmaker, and occasional actor. At the age of 17, Larry started a career as a Jazz saxophonist. He played gigs within New York. Larry studied musical theory briefly at Julliard. He began his paintwork in 1945. As he had gone for a tour the year 1945 together with a jazz band in Maine, he met Jane Freilicher who was a wife of the band’s pianist. According to Larry, painting seemed to be a more opportune vehicle for creative ambition as compared to jazz, which was highly dominated by great black musicians. Back in New York, Larry and Jane drew from the model at the studio of Nell Blaine who encouraged them to take the study with Hans Hofmann. Rivers had the first show at the Jane Street cooperative in 1949, which earned praise from Clement Greenberg and thus, the artist was launched. Through the1950s, into the early ’60s, Larry created some wonderful art pieces, which were used in different places. Larry aided in transforming the course of American art in the 1950s and ’60s. However, his virtues as an artist in most cases inextricably tied up with his vices. The combination was producing work that could be by turns thrilling and horrifying. Larry had a mixed form of curiosity about life, sex, drugs, politics, history as well as culture. In part of Larry’s last decades, he had become commercially doing well and executing trades for an investment accounts due to huge multimedia works, expanded parody himself as well as other artists. During the depicted time, he declined from grace. However, at the height of his fame in the mid-1960s, most of the people had accorded him such a great ability claiming he can do what he wants with a brush. Larry died in the year 2002 aged 78.
The art piece presented was drawn by Larry Rivers for the cover of Lonesome Traveller, a short story book by Jack Kerouac. The book is a compilation of journal entries of Jack on traveling through the United States, Mexico, Morocco, the United Kingdom, and France. The book covers similar issues to his novels, such as relationships, different jobs and the nature of his life on the road. Some of the stories originally appeared as magazine articles. The art piece was created in the year 1960 using graphite on paper material. The image is titled Jack Kerouac with the photographer being Larry Qualls. The type of art piece is drawings and watercolors. The image is exhibited at Tibor de Nagy gallery, spring 2009. The art piece measured 16 by 14 inches. The image was created during a historic period of renaissance.
Observation
The image is a picture of man’s head with eyes open and facing in front. The man is alone and appears confused and probably not happy. The picture does not appear neat. The picture has been crisscrossed with several zigzagged, straight, rough and sketchy lines. One of the eyes and ear appears to be more colored. The dark color in the parts implies their importance in the piece, the author used the color emphasizes the importance of those parts and their relation. The art piece has been created using a black color, probably charcoal, with the brownish background. The image appears to be incomplete. The colors used are well blended with differences in intensity appearing on a light background. The image has little space in the surrounding, but the blank space is almost equal to the space bearing the drawing. The line forming cheek seems straight instead of being somehow curved. The image appears sketchy because it does not get an element of the picture perfect. In most cases, the black color associated with power, fear, mystery, strength, authority, elegance, formality, death, evil, and aggression, authority, rebellion, and sophistication. Black is a requirement for all other colors to have definite depth and variation of the tone. The color brown is a warm color that encourages the appetite. The color appears dull but it in most cases represents steadfastness, simplicity, friendliness, dependability, and even health.
Research
The straight line appearing on top of the head implies some form of rest and repose. The line can be used to discuss the situation that Jack Kerouac was at some point in his journey. For instance, at times he would lie facing the stars portraying peace he would enjoy during the journey. The journey opened his brain to tour the world gaining new experiences. The line implies openness of his brain. Jack enjoys a trip via the rail and ships as he adventures. Although his adventures seem slight, they appear monumental, simply because he invests them with an unconvincing, animal word-energy. He does something as seemingly usual as riding a train and it winds up with the impact of Judy Garland singing a song, a Matter of Life and Death. Jack’s rest and peace are depicted as he navigates deserts and seas by rail and ship. Jack attends a bullfight in Mexico while high on opium. He follows the trail of the beats in New York City as well as sailing to the Panama Canal and the Gulf of Mexico. In addition, Jack climbs Desolation Peak, languishes on a beach in Tangiers and wanders Montmartre in Paris
The crossing lines are used to imply some form of confusions and lack of information. The lines imply the states that Jack was before exploring the world. Jack had little knowledge of the areas he was to visit and homeless nights he spent during his entire journey.
Confusion and sadness portray on the face of the image imply that the struggles faced by African American living in San Francisco. Based on one of the stories, The Railroad Earth, Jack emphasizes on the everyday living of the lower and the middle class, where most of their members are at offices in the afternoons, waiting for their day to end. He portrays the eagerness of these people to go home, the feeling that dominates the surrounding. People appeared confused and in a rush to commute to their homes. Jack brings a picture of the poor people of San Francisco including bums, African Americans who were just loitering on the streets of the city, struggling to live in possession of almost nothing. According to Jack, these people are lucky if they happened to find some few coins to spend them at the Public restaurant. In most cases, the less fortunate people did not eat anything but rather bought alcohol at the liquor store. The black and brown color in the picture reflects some major social issues of the USA of the fifties. People were getting different attitudes and treatments depending on your race. Blacks were treated differently and thus, marking the great struggle.
The dark color appearing on one eye and one year portrays the problem of social inequality since two parts of the body interact and work together. Their difference implies a huge disaster and struggle. The social inequality is portrayed only from one side of the bums. According to Jack, most of these people were poor, unemployed, homeless. The conclusion of the Jack is based on the fact that during his entire adventurous journey, he spent with the less fortunate people.
The image itself is an image of a man. Therefore, it is used to stand for Jack, since the author is a male. It portrays who really is jack. The differences occurring in the picture portrays the different field aspects that Jack is involved in and numerous activities he engages from writing to traveling. The lines being different portray the various experiences undergone by Jack. The image is somehow incomplete implying the gap and more work that had not been done by Jack, meaning that his work needs to be continued. The sad face depicts the experiences he went through in parts of the journey.
In conclusion, Larry Rivers was highly skilled in his artwork. He managed to draw anything he wanted perfectly. He created the above piece of art embracing great abilities. The art piece is to a greater extent symbolizing some contents of the Kerouac’s Lonesome Traveler, making the piece fit well as the book cover image. He has made proper use of colors, lines and even the hue.
