The Art of Rock & Roll
And maybe also Country?
I’ve spoken in the past about music and it’s relationship with art, but today we take it a step further. What if there was a famous rock star who entered the art world? Celebrities making waves in the art world isn’t new, and I don’t just mean in terms of collecting. Lucy Liu, for example, is an artist. Mon Laferte, a Chilean singer, also makes and sells art. But there is one who arguably eclipse both of these artists combined. After all, they’re not just an artist. They’re a former member of one of the greatest bands in history.
Who wouldn’t want to own art by a Beatle?
My favorite Beatle is George Harrison, but my sister will declare without a moments hesitation that Ringo is her favorite. And not just because he’s Ringo. Oh no, because you see, Ringo is an artist. In many way, Ringo is the only true artist to have come out of the Beatles. Paul who? Lennon who?
This doesn’t apply to George because as I said, he’s my favorite. I love you George.
When we imagine an artist, we tend to picture a poor struggling young person who gives tooth and nail to their craft. This isn’t necessarily accurate to history. The story of artists throughout history ranges from the poor to the wealthy. Today’s artist falls into the latter, almost stupidly so. A quick google search shows his net worth is estimated to be $350 million. I’m crying into my hand-me-down thrift shirt.
What do you create when you were already a member of the most famous rock band in history? What do you create when everything you’ve created before has been revered, repeated, and remade again and again and again?
Ringo’s work asks this question frequently. He dares us to counter him, to tell us he’s wrong to create when in his heart and soul he's an artist. Because it’s Ringo Starr who, when his bandmates are falling apart, thinks of an octopus garden (and George who takes him seriously enough to work with him). So when the world is falling apart, it’s Ringo Starr who dares to defy everything and come out with a country album challenge our very notions of what is and isn’t art.
There can be no doubt that the strength of his work is his use of colors. Ringo doesn’t just equip bright saturated colors, but he pairs them with browns time and time again. What else can we pull from this then the duality of life? Bright colors take us back to a yellow submarine, but the darkness shows us that not all is bright. Ringo is uniquely aware of this, allowing us to be swallowed in the depths by life’s dualities through color.
It is not enough to place a figure in bright purple with large red lips. Ringo bathes this figure in black, turning what should be a bright figure into something sinister. The figure stares directly back at us. He dares us to defy him, to see beyond the world he’s crafted. It’s bold, strange, and purely rock n roll.
And yet, we cannot help but notice a sort of playful nature to Ringo’s work. A blue figure stands before another with a hurt finger. In some ways, the blue figure resembles Donald Trump, smug and staring with his hands in his pocket. The man across from him presents his pain, his eyes open in vulnerability. But the blue figure does not care. He cannot see beyond his own smugness.
The background is slightly red, adding to the sense of alarm we feel at the sight of this painting. Is the blue figure responsible for the hurt finger? Is he laughing at his expense? It’s a bleak narrative that leaves us with more questions than answers. One cannot help but wonder if Ringo himself has the answer, or if he wants us to ask the question alongside him.
Where do you go when you have been on top of the world? Many musicians have tasted glory, but few have hit anywhere near that of the Beatles. I remember as a teenager reading a quote that said, “teenagers will be listening to the Beatles in 2012.” It was 2016 when I read that, and I was listening to the Beatles. My vinyl of Abbey Road is one of my prized possessions (though it sadly skips during Here Comes The Sun) (George I’ve failed you).
What is left to explore when the world hasn’t finished with you? Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney are the last two remaining members of The Beatles. I cannot imagine a world without them, but even when they pass, I won’t have to. Their imprint on music and history is undeniable.
What Ringo’s art does is take us into the mind of a man who once played drums for a band so beloved no one could hear them play at concerts because everyone was so bloody loud. He takes our hand and allows us to step into his world, to become a Beatle with him. When I look at his work, I am back in the 60s, donning my vintage dresses that emulate the British Invasion and gushing with the bandmates over Buddy Holly. We sink into their drug induced, world, forever changed by Bob Dylan’s activism and the spirituality of India (which, frankly, really impacted George the most).
What do we find when we sink into Ringo Starr’s art and gain the ultimate insider access to the greatest rock band in history?
An elephant foot.
We get an elephant foot.
There are not enough words to describe the depth of this, of what it means and how profound it is. Move over Mona Lisa, there’s a new head bitch in town.
This is definitely NOT an April Fools joke. Write this on my damn tombstone babes I stand by ALL of this.
