Proclaiming themselves as self-styled artists
the reporters have deflowered us
with tales of torture from Argentina
rampaging Apartheid in South Africa
and then there’s those nasty Ayatollahs
who could give even the strongest of stomachs
a gastrointestinal infection

It started way back in Vietnam
an entire war showcased on suppertime TV
who needed Dallas or Saturday Night Hockey?
when we had Green Berets
smoking Pot out the ends of their rifles

And now everybody wants to be a star
or at least a budding Picasso or Kurt Cobain
even if it’s only for fifteen minutes
time’s worth a million these days
and if you don’t have a paint brush
or guitar in your hands
then you’re obviously a critic

You can see lots of them
down at the local art gallery
where nothing is too obscene
say whatever happened to
the Renaissance or Cubism?
still there maybe
buried between the lines of Voice of Fire

Do you remember your first experience with artistic intercourse?



© 1990
Inputted and revised © 2018
Photo: Painting, Voice of Fire by Barnett Newman, courtesy of the Net

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05/25/2018

Author's Note: The purchase of Voice of Fire by the National Gallery of Canada for its permanent collection in 1989, at a cost of $1.8 million, caused a storm of controversy. Some residents mocked the purchase with striped T-shirts and ties that mimicked the painting.

Posted on 05/25/2018
Copyright © 2024 Chris Sorrenti