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Glasgow, Townhead 1955

General Poetry - post, comment, review, critique
Matty11
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Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2018 7:58 pm

Glasgow, Townhead 1955

Post by Matty11 » Mon May 24, 2021 2:07 am

Their mum's down at the steamie,
or so they say. The lad
plays minder to his sister.
He stares inwards, a child
buried in grown-up frowns,
and grasps a half-full bottle,
his sister's milk white light.
She looks outwards, unfazed,
a scallywag half-smile.
The brother clasps her wrist
as if this source of light
will soon be lost to shadow.
The painter strives for both,
though shy as any child,
finds tenderness beneath
the dirt, warmth in cold places.

Note: Shortly after the painting, the sister was taken into care. She did not see her family again until 1985.


https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/bro ... ter-106889

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Tracy Mitchell
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Re: Glasgow, Townhead 1955

Post by Tracy Mitchell » Mon May 24, 2021 1:50 pm

Wonderful, Matty.  In this ekphrastic you not only luminate the painting, but the artist as well - what a delightful twist.  There is so much humanity in the painting which you bring to the reader.

Cheers.

T

indar
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Re: Glasgow, Townhead 1955

Post by indar » Mon May 24, 2021 3:55 pm

But what happened to the brother? These are the questions that bother me endlessly. The painting is terrifying in its representation of the realities of the lives of so many lost children. Thank you for posting this poem Phil.

indar
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Re: Glasgow, Townhead 1955

Post by indar » Mon May 24, 2021 6:19 pm

That haunting painting stuck with me this afternoon so I clicked on for another look. Then I scrolled down and followed another link to her more of her work. I am really taken with her paintings--thank you for introducing.

Matty11
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Re: Glasgow, Townhead 1955

Post by Matty11 » Mon May 24, 2021 10:58 pm

Cheers T. She moved from Glasgow to an isolated Scottish fishing village in her final painting period. They accepted her, partly because of her work ethic. She just got on with it. Like the attitude.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lekhdsXD-Ro

best

Phil
 

Matty11
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Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2018 7:58 pm

Re: Glasgow, Townhead 1955

Post by Matty11 » Mon May 24, 2021 11:04 pm

Thanks Linda. Pleased you enjoyed. Yes, there are always more jigsaw pieces to complete a narrative.

Here is more of the story:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland- ... d-45879856

best

Phil

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Colm Roe
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Re: Glasgow, Townhead 1955

Post by Colm Roe » Wed May 26, 2021 7:50 pm

You show the painting well Phil, and thank you for introducing me to a very fine artist.
It's such a powerful and uniquely painted work.

Matty11
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Re: Glasgow, Townhead 1955

Post by Matty11 » Thu May 27, 2021 3:18 am

Thanks Colm. Any artist/painting you could recommend for an ekphrastic write?

cheers

Phil

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Colm Roe
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Re: Glasgow, Townhead 1955

Post by Colm Roe » Thu May 27, 2021 3:43 am

I came across this print on your link. It is a harrowing and haunting piece. The way the mother's grief is so severe it seems to be changing her features, almost as if she's melting away. And this compared to the delicate lightness of the child's face. It is a superb piece of work.

https://www.ikon-gallery.org/blog/2017/ ... -in-focus/

Dave
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Re: Glasgow, Townhead 1955

Post by Dave » Thu May 27, 2021 9:45 am

Hey Phil
This poem has a different feel to it than other poems of late. Some interesting gear changes going on in recent writing. Interesting for me too to hear others views of the painting. It is one of those I feel I would need to see in real life to appreciate. As seen on the internet it has something vaguely creepy for me.
Dave

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