Author, Lecturer, Broadcaster & Cultural Arts Expert;
President of Art Collage JANG/J Music/J Art/J Books & Media.
Author of over 40 books published on Amazon, including The Crimson Horror series and The Great and Immortal Painters’ Stories series.
Dedicated to sharing insights into art, culture, literature, and creative expression through writing, lectures, media, and content creation.
I had 39th live broadcast of “Pops
Lounge” yesterday in TBN Ulsan Traffic Broadcasting Network’s “Studio1041”.
Until
last week, I introduced American and British popular music by genre for a long
time, from the 1950s to the 1990s, and from yesterday's broadcast, I started
introducing the greatest popular musicians in music
history.
The first greatest popular musician in music history I introduced
yesterday was “The Beatles”.
I uploaded content of yesterday's
broadcast on YouTube.
Studio 1041 “Pops Lounge” of TBN
Ulsan Traffic Broadcasting Network will be continued at 10:30 am every Tuesday.
Currently, I am
introducing the stories about various artists and their paintings with the
title “Interesting
Art Stories”.
The 70th story is“The Son of Man” by René Magritte.
“The Son of Man” is a 1964 painting by the Belgian surrealist painter
René Magritte, which is his most famous work.
René Magritte
This self-portrait by Magritte depicts a man in an overcoat and a
bowler hat standing in front of a low wall, beyond which are the sea and a
cloudy sky. The man's face is mostly obscured by a green apple floating in the
air, but the man's eyes can be seen peeking over the edge of the apple. Another
characteristic is that the man's left arm appears bent backwards at the elbow.
Regarding this painting, Magritte said:
“In this painting, you can have the apparent face, the apple, but
there is a hidden human face. This is something that happens constantly… We
always want to see what is hidden by what we see. There is an interest in that
which is hidden and which the visible does not show us... ”
Among the paintings of Magritte, there are paintings similar to “The
Son of Man” as follows.
“The Great War” is a variation of “The Son of Man,” showing only the
upper torso and head of the bowler hatted man, with the apple completely hiding
his face.
The Great War, René Magritte (1964)
“The Taste of the Invisible” is a gouache painting of the same
subject.
The Taste of the Invisible, René Magritte (1964)
"The Great War on Facades" depicts a person standing in front
of a wall overlooking the sea, as in “The Son of Man”, but it is a woman with
an umbrella whose face is obscured by flowers.
The Great War on Façades, René Magritte (1964)
"Man in the Bowler Hat" is a similar painting, but a man's
face is obscured by a bird rather than an apple.
Man in the Bowler Hat, René Magritte (1964)
“The Son of Man” has been used in various fields of culture and art
as follows.
In 1970, American artist Norman Rockwell paid a playful homage to
"The Son of Man" with an oil painting entitled "Mr. Apple".
Mr. Apple, Norman Rockwell (1970)
"The Son of Man" appears in the 1999 film "The Thomas
Crown Affair".
The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)
The apple was a continuing theme in Magritte's work. The apple in his
1966 painting "Le Jeu De Morre,"owned by Paul McCartney, inspired the
Beatles to name their record company "Apple Corps."
Apple Corps' logo
Le Jeu de Morre (The Game of Mora), René Magritte (1966)
“The Son of Man” is mentioned several times in the 2006 film
"Stranger than Fiction."
Following the last week, I am going to
start my 63rd lecture.
The topic for this week is “The Beatles
Era”, the second theme of “The History of Rock”.
This lecture is a summary of the
contents of “63. History of Rock Music: 2. The Beatles Era, ACJ Music Academy”
introduced on October 8, 2016.
The late 1950s
to early 1960s was a period that rock and roll era ended, which became the
basis of rock, and the previous period of the British Invasion, which British
bands attacked the United States. Some music critics emphasize that without the
innovative musical elements that were formed during this period, subsequent
musical development would have been impossible.
Rock and Roll didn't completely
disappear in the late 1950s, and its influence led to the twist craze in the
early 1960s, which made Chubby Checker a big star. Cliff Richard, a British
singer, effectively promoted British rock sound and made the first British rock
and roll hit with the song "Move It" released in 1958.
Chubby Checker
Cliff Richard
The Beatles is
a rock band formed in Liverpool, UK in 1960. The members of the band are John
Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, and they are
considered the most important and influential band in rock history.
Fans and media swarm the Beatles at Schiphol Airport (1964)
Their
manager Brian Epstein made the Beatles as a professional band, and the producer
George Martin led their recordings to create their first hit song “Love Me Do”
in late 1962, which became a big hit in the UK. The Beatles became a worldwide
star by leading the “British Invasion” in the American pop market in early 1964.
The Beatles arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport (7 February 1964)
The Beatles with Ed Sullivan (February 1964)
Since 1965, they
successively released influential albums such as “Rubber Soul (1965)”,
“Revolver (1966)”, “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)”, “The Beatles
(1968)” and “Abbey Road (1969)”.
Rubber Soul (1965)
Revolver (1966)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
The Beatles (1968)
Abbey Road (1969)
Final studio album "Let It Be" (1970)
After the band
was disbanded in 1970, each member acted as solo musician and made success. Among the
members, John Lennon was shot and killed by a bully in December 1980, George
Harrison died of lung cancer in November 2001, and the currently surviving Paul
McCartney and Ringo Starr continue their musical career.
The Beatles Monument, Almaty, Kazakhstan
According to the
“Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)”, The Beatles is the most
sold artist in the United States, with sales of 178 million albums, and has the
most number one albums and singles in the UK. The Beatles ranked No.1 among “The
100 most successful artists of all time” by U.S. Billboard Chart in 2008, and
was included in “The 100 most influential people of the 20th century” by Time
Magazine.
The Beatles statue, Liverpool
The Beatles also sold over 600 million albums worldwide, making them
the most album-selling artist of all time. The Beatles was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and all the members were inducted
individually between 1994 and 2015.
The Beatles Exhibit, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
You can also review this lecture from
following media.
