The Blizzard of '98




My usual source of inspiration for paintings is old archival pics, but occasionally I'll also find fascinating subjects trapped within the fleeting frames of old motion pictures.  Such was the case with this small 8 x 10 piece, "The Blizzard of '98". 
Whilst browsing Youtube one day I happened upon an old film of snowbound New York in 1898.  I was immediately struck by the soft, dreamy beauty of this ancient footage.  But even more so my eye was taken by the lively activities of the people within, as they went about their daily life.  The clip is an incredible blend of men, women, children, police, dogs, wagons, snow-clearing equipment, trams and horses all coping with the snowbound streets around Union Square.  The blizzard seems to have hardly impacted the city's daily bustle. 
Some moments of note:  the young boy wiping out at :37.  The wagon full of kegs at :47, possibly transporting warming spirits to a nearby tavern.  And the man at 1:04, playfully running and sliding across a patch of ice. 
Whenever I look at films like these, it reminds me of the fleeting nature of our existence.  But for the presence of an early camera, on that particular morning, in that particular place 120 years ago, I would never have witnessed that whimsical moment of the man sliding at 1:04.  Who this man was is impossible to know, but his simple act of spontaneous fun we can all identify with...and suddenly our bond with him leaps across the decades. 
Every single person and animal in this clip is now dead (a morbid point that I invariably raise when watching something like this and that invariably prompts an eye-roll from my wife when I do).  They are all gone now.  Lived their lives.  Took part in millions of banal everyday actions like sliding on a patch of ice.  The man who did so couldn't possibly have fathomed that his tiny act of momentary fun would live on 120 years later, to be written about on this strange thing called 'the internet'. 
 He is physically long gone, but his spirit remains, performing his simple act on endless loop, popping up out of nowhere then vanishing again.  A phantom. 
But we caught him, for a moment anyways.  Him and all his fellow travelers.  Preserved forever on celluloid and canvas now too. 

 

Link to the film clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCBLXnjhM1c


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Great Gotham

Image
  Third Avenue El Long before I ever set foot in the Big Apple (which wasn't until I was in my fifties, I'm embarrassed to say), I had drawn on it as subject matter for many of my paintings.   That really is no surprise when I look at the body of my work...typically characterized by urban winter scenes from the early part of the twentieth century.  If you think of the ultimate 1930's cityscape, situated in a northern clime...could any place other than New York fit that bill? Times Square, 1930 In fact, a case could be made that the 1930s was the defining era of NYC.  The start of the decade saw the arrival of the iconic Chrysler Tower and Empire State Building, the latter being so prominently featured in the climax of the movie King Kong, which came out in 1933.  The period between the world wars was also the time when America cemented its role as the leading nation of the world, as a result of Britain's declining wealth and influence.  New York was the shining jewel i
Read more

The Art Trip of a Lifetime

Image
  In October of 2022, my wife Siobhan and I took the European trip of a lifetime.  It was primarily to tick off important items on the bucket list, but it was also celebratory on several levels.  The pandemic was all but over.  I had had successful cancer surgery earlier in June.  And we recognized that we weren't getting any younger.  Many life events had conspired to lend a new urgency to the taking of a journey like this.  Time to book the flights and accommodations and go! We picked out four cities we particularly felt we should see.  Only one of the four I had previously been to (that was Paris on a one-day work stopover...the only time I had ever set foot in continental Europe, I'm embarrassed to say).   Those cities were, in order, Venice, Prague, Amsterdam and Paris.   This wasn't exclusively an art trip...but undoubtedly great art and architecture would be an over-arching theme. Venice was stop number one.   I won't try to do justice to the jaw-dropping beauty
Read more

Art: Make it Personal

Image
Over the years, I've appeared as a guest speaker for different art clubs and groups.  My talks typically have been less about the technical aspects of painting, and more focused on making the leap from casual hobby painter to working, selling artist.  There are many different elements that go into this not-so-easy transition, but if I were forced to distill it down to one guiding principle, it is this... BE DISTINCTIVE.   If you say the names:  Van Gogh...Picasso...Monet...automatically images of their 'style' of work will come to mind.  Even a relative art history novice will be able to easily identify their work.  That's because they've achieved that thing that all artists must to be remembered: distinctiveness.   As I ventured out into the world of exhibiting my art alongside my peers, one thing became immediately apparent.  The world is absolutely full up with amazing artists. In any large community, there are literally thousands of very good artists, plus an as
Read more