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The Queen
after her first cigarette 1991, Acryl
auf Leinwand © Paul McCartney |
""Growing
up in England, obviously one of the strong images, particularly
then, was the Queen." This comment from McCartney explains
at least one of his motives for taking the Queen as a model for
this series. But they are not portraits. Seen against the
background of his free approach to painting, the Queen pictures
represent communication with the living legend, an ironic salute
even. The two personalities, both the Queen and McCartney, are
world famous, but under different conditions. McCartney notes:
"My celebrity, unlike Royal celebrity, carries with it
freedom ... I can sit here, I can drive a car. Whereas their
celebrity doesn't carry with it freedom, so I often feel sorry
for them." And so in the first picture the artist paints a
Queen who even after her first cigarette knows how to keep a
stiff upper lip but who nevertheless betrays her queasiness in
the pallor of her skin, painted in innumerable shades of green
and white, and in the strange rolling of the left eye. If the
first picture in the series appears rather disrespectful, albeit
in an affectionate way, the second one approaches the institution
and the person of the Queen with loving respect (in blue!).
Nearer to the original, a photo in a glossy magazine, and
reinforced by the use of scratching, the facial features become
clearer here, and the Queen who looks out at the viewer shows off
a gracious, somewhat Mona Lisa-like smile. The third Queen
picture is dominated by shades of green and brown, which also
provide the motto for this painting. McCartney, himself a
passionate advocate of green environmental policy, associates the
Queen with such ideals too.
The Queen has special significance for Paul McCartney's career as
a painter, for when Paul was eleven, he won an essay competition
held in honour of her coronation, and the Mayor of Liverpool
presented him with a prize. McCartney invested the money with
great foresight: he bought a book on contemporary art.
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PAUL McCARTNEY paintings
, Kunstforum Lÿz, Siegen, 1. Mai bis 25. Juli 1999
Konzeption & Organisation der Ausstellung: Kultur!Büro.
Kreis Siegen-Wittgenstein
Paintings © Paul McCartney. Photographs of the artist © Estate
of Linda McCartney
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