A little too large for a chair, Three Musicians fit perfectly on a bench. Created by Picasso in 1921, it is now part of the collection in the New York Museum of Modern Art. Although it is an oil painting, Three Musicians looks like a collage made from cut out pieces of colored paper. The forms are simplified into angular shapes that interlock like a jigsaw puzzle, and the flat colors create a surface pattern with multiple spatial ambiguities. Dark brown is used for the background wall and also for a foreground table, parts of the figures’ faces, and the silhouette of a dog lying under the table. Harlequin’s mask is part of a large, complex blue shape that covers much of the Pierrot. The same blue appears in the lower portion of the painting, possibly as furniture, and on the table top as part of a still life. While some objects are easily identifiable — the guitar in the center, the sheet music, and the clarinet on the left — others, like the pile of objects on the table, are less clear. (www.PabloPicasso)
The Scream
This has always been one of my favorite paintings, and was an honor to recreate as a chair.
The Scream (Norwegian: Skrik) is a composition created by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch in 1893. The agonized face in the painting has become one of the most iconic images of art, seen as symbolizing the anxiety of the human condition. Munch’s work, including The Scream, would go on to have a formative influence on the Expressionistmovement.[1]
In his diary in an entry headed “Nice 22 January 1892”, Munch wrote:
One evening I was walking along a path, the city was on one side and the fjord below. I felt tired and ill. I stopped and looked out over the fjord – the sun was setting, and the clouds turning blood red. I sensed a scream passing through nature; it seemed to me that I heard the scream. I painted this picture, painted the clouds as actual blood. The color shrieked. This became The Scream.[4]
The Obamas
In 2018, the portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama were unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC. The date their unveiling, deliberately chosen by Barack Obama, was February 12, Lincoln’s birthday. The 44th president has made no secret that he admired the 16th. These paintings have captivated audiences from around the world.
Lady Gaga
With commissioned artwork, I am often asked to reproduce a celebrity’s iconic look. Which brings us to Lady Gaga…how do you narrow her fashion style onto just one chair…plastic bubbles, Kermit the Frog dolls, raw meat? With numerous conversations and considerations, we went with her portrayal of Elizabeth Johnson, the “Countess” from American Horror Story. Gaga won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of the ritzy bloodsucker.
Tina Turner – The Queen of Rock ‘n Roll
I was recently commissioned to pay tribute to the Queen of Rock ‘n Roll, Tina Turner.
Turner began her career with Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm in 1957 where she was part of such great works as “River Deep – Mountain High,” “Proud Mary” and “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine.” In 1976, the band disbanded, and in the 80s Tina returned to launch her solo career marking one of the greatest comebacks in music.
Her 1984 multi-platinum “Private Dancer” album is amazing, and features “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” and “We Don’t Need Another Hero.” It also won record of the Year.
At the age of 44 she became the oldest female solo artist to top the Hot 100. Tina is a two-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with Ike Turner in 1991 and as a solo artist in 2021. She is also the 2005 recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors and Women of the Year award.
2006 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee Ed King
I received an exciting commission this past fall from the widow of 2006 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Ed King, former guitarist and founding member of Strawberry Alarm Clock, co-writer and guitarist on the number one hit “Incense and Peppermints” and Southern Rock stalwart Lynyrd Skynyrd. Ed, who passed away in 2018, helped to create Lynyrd Skynyrd’s signature sound as one of the famed “Three Guitar Army”. He co-wrote Sweet Home Alabama during his first day with Skynyrd, and is considered by many to be one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
Ed was a guitar aficionado and had a substantial collection of guitars. What his room needed was guitarists. His widow wanted to add six guitarists to Ed’s display room. To say I was honored was an understatement. In addition to painting a chair of Ed, I was asked to create chairs of musicians who had influenced Ed throughout his career. They included John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Billy Gibbons, Duane Allman and Neil Young. Oh, if this Six Guitar Army could talk…
Billy Joel – The Piano Man
Billy Joel was commissioned along with Freddy Mercury as a set for a music suite. While having near complete freedom for both pieces, this one needed to have the lyrics to The Piano Man displayed in a prominent place.
Billy was born in 1949 in the Bronx, NY. At age 15, he played his first gig at a piano bar in his neighborhood. He loved it so much that he quit high school to pursue his career. He was part of two bands before signing a solo record deal with Family Records.
His big break may have come when he caught the attention of Columbia Records by performing Captain Jack live on a Philadelphia radio station. As a result, he signed a record deal with them in 1973. He really became popular with the release of The Stranger in 1977 with his hit singles “Just the Way You Are”, “Movin’ Out”, “Only the Good Die Young” and “She’s Always a Woman”. Due to poor management, he earned only $3,000 from the album.
Joel has continued to produce noteworthy records and has received a whopping 23 Grammy nominations . His voice is synonymous with the 70s and 80s. To date, he has sold over 78 million records.
Freddie Mercury of Queen
I was also commissioned in 2021 to create Freddie Mercury, the highly theatrical front man of Queen. And, I have to say he was great fun to create. I decided to pay tribute to him from his famous Live Aid performance at Wembley Stadium in 1985, which most consider to be his greatest performance.
Mercury was born September 5, 1946, and his four-octave vocal range was amazing. His noteworthy hits include “Killer Queen,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Somebody to Love,” “We are the Champions,” “Don’t Stop Me Now” and “Crazy Little thing Called Love.”
As a member of Queen, Mercury was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 a much deserved honor. In 2018, the movie Bohemian Rhapsody brought attention again to Freddie’s musical career.
Throttle Back Sparky Custom Order
Most people have probably not heard of the band Throttle Back Sparky but I was contacted last fall by Allen Lulu, one of the band members , who asked me to help him pay tribute to the band.
Throttle Back Sparky was an American rock band that played in and around Los Angeles in 2000. The band was formed by Allen Lulu and Jon Rosenberg after the two New York University college friends reunited at the Music Night, an occasional late night program where theater members and affiliate actors and musicians would come together to play original songs and covers in the relaxed atmosphere of the post-main-stage venue.
The original lineup of the band was mostly an ad-hoc assortment of Music Night performers and their acquaintances. They produced two albums Great Big Mardi Gras Head EP and Throttle Back Sparky. The band’s oeuvre ran the gamut from two minute punk homages (The Ramones influenced, “Joey Enough”) to epic stadium anthems (“Age of Consent” & “Trusted”). Known for their high energy shows, they would often describe their performances as “if someone paid $10 to see us, we should give them a $50 show”.
During the course of their six-year career they would frequent the Los Angeles club scene, most notably playing shows as The Gig, The Joint, Coconut Teaszer, The Whiskey-a-Go-Go, The Derby, The Hard Rock Cafe among many others.
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music. He was born in 1770 although the exact date was not recorded. At he age of 10, he withdrew from school to study music full time and by the age of 12 he published his first musical compositions.
His career has conventionally been divided into early, middle, and late periods. His early period, during which he forged his craft, is typically considered to have lasted until 1802. From 1802 to around 1812, his middle period showed an individual development from the styles of Joseph Hayden and Wolfgang Amadeus and is sometimes characterized as heroic. During this time, he began to suffer increasingly from deafness. In his late period, from 1812 to 1827, he extended his innovations in musical form and expression. He died at the age of 56 in 1827.
From the woman who commissioned this chair: “Many years ago I had a dream that morphed Beethoven sitting in a chair, (like Lincoln at Washington Memorial.) I was a kid in the dream and I was crying and I climbed on Beethoven’s lap and he comforted me. I had forgotten the dream until I saw your completed chair! Now I can truly sit in his lap but this time without the tears. Thank you Todd, you have been a pleasure.”
