the art historian's mixtape

Yesterday my mom asked me what my next song would be. I had a post all wrapped up and ready to go about Vermeer, but in light of Levon Helm's recent passing, I'm going in a different direction. For this installment of the art historian's mixtape, I present "When I Paint My Masterpiece."  Written by Bob Dylan, this song was first recorded by The Band and appears on their 1971 album, Cahoots. Happy Monday, y'all.

the art historian's mixtape

Album cover for Turbulent Indigo

I first encountered Joni Mitchell on a mixtape my friend made me for my 17th birthday. Buried in a sea of Queen, Pat Benatar, and the Doors was "River" off of Blue. I never thought much about that track. She had a sweet voice and a piano, and I wasn't really into that. Joni came back into my life one spring Saturday. My friend and I drove down the mountain to sift through Carhartts in search of dresses at the Hammers in South Pittsburg. The windows were down and "This Flight Tonight" was on. I've loved Joni ever since. When Joni isn't writing she's painting. This weeks art historian's mixtape brings you a self portrait of Joni Mitchell as Vincent van Gogh, and "Turbulent Indigo," a song about the artist.

the art historian's mixtape

The art gallery I work for happens to own a James Ensor painting. When I first began my job, my co-worker jokingly asked me if I wanted to Meet James Ensor. He showed me the painting in storage, and later we laughed over the song with the same name by They Might Be Giants. I'll have to admit, I like the song much better than our Ensor. The song is so silly, it's taken a little of the stuffiness out of the painting.

the art historian's mixtape

The first time I saw Un Chien Andalou, I was a senior in college. It was 9am, I was in my Modern Art art history class, and I was clinging to my cup of coffee as if it were a life raft. It was too early, and the eyeball scene was a little much.
The first time I heard the Pixies, I was at a frat party. The music was loud, the room was smoky and dirty. I couldn't quite make out the song, but I liked it, and more importantly, I could dance to it.
In honor of late college evenings, and mornings powered by coffee, I give you The Pixies' Debaser, as this week's track on the art historian's mixtape.

the art historian's mixtape

Last week, I read the article "Art Excavated from Battle Station Earth" in the Arts section of the Sunday New York Times. It details the re-emergence of  sculptural works by Rammellzee, a native New York artist who died in 2010. Rammellzee's work fuses language, the alphabet, sculptural assemblages, collage, outer space, science fiction, trash, costumes, and children's toys into a fantastical art-space/life. The article states that his obsessive art-life fusion puts Andy Warhol's to shame. Those who knew Rammellzee's real name never told.
My mom has a theory that an obsession with subject matter makes someone an artist. As she says, "One haystack is just a haystack, but many haystacks is Monet." If this is true, Rammellzee's life is art. For this week's track on the art historian's mixtape, I give you Rammellzee and K-Rob's "Beat Bop" from 1983. As an added art bonus, the cover for the album was designed by Jean-Michel Basquiat.

the art historian's mixtape

I've always enjoyed making the types of mixes where all the songs have a slightly obscure relationship with each other. When one of my best friends in college got her American citizenship, I made a CD of songs that mentioned places in America, or were sung by bands named after American cities. I've planned out mixes that were ordered numerically by a number in the song title, and attempted to make a CD where every song corresponded to a letter in the alphabet. Never have I thought to make a mix of songs that referenced art and artists. Until now. Each week I will bring you one track of what will make up the art historian's mixtape. In honor of the Cindy Sherman retrospective that just opened this month at the MOMA, here is "Cindy Sherman" by the Swedish goup, The Shermans.