I have been admiring Amy Crehore’s paintings ever since I came to know her through Boing Boing.  I recently had a chance to interview Amy Crehore and we decided to cover something different than the normal interview - in this case -  Pierrots & Monkeys.

Me: What attracted you to paint Pierrots?  While paintings of Pierrots (The Pierrot is traditionally a love sick clown in a white costume dating back to the 16th century Italian Commedia dell’arte) have a rich history in European art, with paintings of Pierrots by Watteau, Picasso, Derain and Antonio Donghi, most people are not familiar with Pierrots.   What can we learn from Pierrots and what in you is so attracted to them?

Amy: Well, I painted my first pierrot over 20 years ago in a large painting called “Banquet Days”. The title was a reference to Henri Rousseau and a book about his era called “The Banquet Years”. This painting was inspired by a tin-type of my great, great Uncle Stanley in costume who was a performer on the Great White Way (pre-Broadway) in NYC.

I have many photos from his collection of theater images. He was a character who walked down the street in a top hat and cane and sang in a bass voice on stage. He even performed in minstrel shows.

Aesthetically, the Pierrot is my favorite clown, with his pointy dunce-type hat and simple pajama-type costume. He’s a lovable fool and a fool for love. He represents all of us. He’s got history behind him. He entertains us and he also makes us feel something. He’s sad and happy at the same time… like we all are.

Me: We hear that you like Leonard Cohen’s music and listened to his music while painting the Pierrot Series (http://amycrehore.blogspot.com/2006/05/okay-i-admit-it.html). 

Tell us more about how Leonard Cohen has influenced your painting?  You mentioned that we should support the man and his music – what are we missing about Cohen?

Amy: I think his poetry resonates on a deep, emotional level and his music is romantic and sensual. That helped me get in the mood to paint these particular new paintings. His music ages gracefully like he does. He’s a genius creative artist and he inspires me.

He’s been in the news lately with new work, a new movie and recent stories about an unfortunate financial situation….so I wanted to let people know about him.

Me: Why are your Pierrots always wearing blue and sometimes have their faces painted black?  Is there any symbolism?

Amy: Well, they started out in white, but ended up blue. I needed some color, I guess, to contrast with red. But, blue is appropriate, I think. Like Picasso’s blue period. My pierrot is a mischievous and melancholy imp. He gets into trouble a lot. But, the girl is fond of him and they have a sort of ambiguous relationship.

 

The black face is a twist on the white make up that he usually wears and also relates to music/entertainment that was popular back in the 1920’s. And I think the black face adds something graphically to the paintings.

Amy Crehore’s blog contains many of her insights while at her main website, www.amycrehore.com you can see pictures of her latest work and buy prints of many of her paintings.

Note: I’ll continue this interview with Amy Crehore, Painter of Pierrots & Monkeys - Part 2, my next post.