Saturday, September 14, 2013

Bacon bits

If you want to put an evil guy in front of a painting the art of the moment seems to be by Francis Bacon. We've already featured Jack Nicholson’s Bacon moment and now the eccentric British artist has been selected as backdrop in the re-hash of RoboCop. This time the evil one barks at his minions in front of Bacon’s 1981 Triptych inspired by Aeschylus's ‘Orestei’. Now why the hell would they pick that?

A clue may be in the poem Bacon tapped for his three-parter. "Black they are ... their heavy rasping breathing makes me cringe." Yes it's a tale of slaughter coupled with relentless pursuit. Rings a bell when you think back to the first RoboCop movie.


The original of the Bacon painting (one of 28 large triptychs he painted) is in the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in Oslo.  This is yet another private collection that has recently opened its own new museum, this one designed by Renzo Piano.


As to the film, it’s trailer only time at the moment so no Bacon spotting until early next year.
Image: Top, RoboCop to be released in 2014. Bottom, Bacon’s Triptych inspired by Aeschylus's 'Orestei'. You can buy a three-part Bacon lithograph based on this painting here


Images: top, still from the RoboCop remake. Bottom Bacon's Triptych inspired by Aeschylus's ‘Orestei’ (Thanks for the tip D)