The Loot

This Christmas was actually really good. I got, in bullet point form:

• Purple glasses
• Sims 3: World Adventures!
• Earrings
• Necklace
• Purple mascara
• A pretty shirt
• Threadless shirt
• Pride and Prejudice, the 5 hour version!

And I gave my brother Rielly some X-Box keyboard thing and a scarf. Needless to say, he loved it.

Analysis of "Mr. and Mrs. Clark and Percy"

So there's not much about this painting. I Googled it and the results had to be the most disappointing I've ever gotten. However some good did come of it.

The source that had the most information? Wikipedia. Every other source was about Ossie Clark and not so much about the painting. Maybe I should just e-mail David Hockney. He's still alive, which I find really cool. But enough of my inner-art geekiness...

This is a wedding portrait of fashion designer Ossie Clark and his wife, textile designer, Celia Birtwell. This painting is not only aesthetic, but it's deeply symbolic. Hockney draws on William Hogarth's A Rake's Progress as well as Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Wedding. Once I read this, it suddenly made sense. The central message of this painting is the same as Hogarth's in Rake's. Don't marry for money or to simply climb up the social ladder. Social positions don't really matter. The only reason Ossie and Birtwell were getting married in this painting is because Birtwell was pregnant. Fertility is symbolized with the flowers-lilies- on the table. Hockney's interpretation of Hogarth's A Rake's Progres is seen on the wall although it's not really that clear. If you've ever seen van Eyck's Arnolfini piece, you'll notice that the position of the man and woman are reversed, suggesting that Birtwell is the dominant partner in this marriage. Both Ossie Clark's position and the white cat, whose real name is Blanche and not Percy, symbolize Ossie's infidelity and envy. Both of these aspects led to the eventual breakdown of the marriage in 1974.

Gotta love art history.