We’re talking about Titles – Headlines – Opening Lines
that say far more than they say.
When Velazquez painted the original, he called it merely “The Crucifixion.”
But when Christian Bach painted her version, she called it “A Study of Light and Dark, after Diego Velazquez,” a title that says far more than it says.
When painters experiment with colors that create the illusion of light shining in darkness, they sometimes call the resulting work “a study of light and dark.” During the 5 or 6 years I’ve followed the work of Christian Bach, I’ve never seen her give this name to one of her compositions but then she saw an opportunity to say more with that phrase than it usually says.
“The Crucifixion” is obvious.
“The Light of the World” is contrived.
“John Chapter One” would be contrived and overtly religious.
But to call it “A Study of Light and Dark” is both quiet and majestic. It says far more than it says.
The goal is to say something “MultiLayered.”
(“Double Entendre” is another phrase that fits this technique, except that one has come to mean “sexually suggestive,” so we’ll set it aside.)
Christian Bach is a young woman in Los Angeles who lives by her brush. Painting for her is not a hobby, it is her livelihood. Pennie and I have purchased about 20 of her works over the last 7 or 8 years. We’ve never met her.
It would be in our best interest to continue to conceal Christian Bach so that we might continue to buy her extraordinary work at absurdly low prices. Sadly for me – but happily for the artist and for you – Pennie’s conscience demanded that I reveal the location of this buried treasure.
We’ve spent as little as $40 and as much as $1,000 for her paintings. All of them originals. No limited edition prints. As more people discover her work, its value will begin to rise. I have no doubt of this whatsoever.
This is Christian Bach’s blog.
This is where she occasionally posts things on eBay.
She has no idea that Pennie and I are doing this for her because as you have long suspected, one does not get mentioned in the Monday Morning Memo by asking.
And as you suspected, we bought “A Study in Light and Dark, after Diego Velazquez.” But we’ll leave her next painting for you.
Roy H. Williams