Love Hurts

Portrait captures the true pain
behind comedy music genius

Without pain, we would have no art for audiences to examine, internalize, claim as inspiration or blithely reject.

And I suppose if one factor separates my comedy music from the artistically disposable Demento crowd at one extreme and the scatologically unconstrained Howard Stern scene at the other, it would be my painfully ironic view of love and romance.

That’s the way I would paint my self-portrait, anyway. Besides, it’s easier to paint a heart than an outsized ego. But don’t take my word for it.

Artist-musician Steve van Gelder (former frontman for the bands Joe Fool and The Karolinas) has affirmed my wounded lover’s status with the portrait Love Hurts, hit of the El Corazon art exhibition, continuing through February 24 at Dallas’ Bath House Cultural Center.

The reviews are in

Here’s what Jesus Chairez had to say about the acrylic-on-wood work at dallasnews.com:

The exhibit is filled with heart interpretations, pieces that bring back nice memories of present love, but one large painting titled Love Hurts by Steve van Gelder is daunting. Love Hurts stops you in your tracks when you walk into the main gallery.

Steve van Gelder

The painting of a young man with a his bullet-riddled body and bleeding heart (Editor’s note: That’s my bleeding heart he’s talking about) reminds one for a moment of the pain one suffers when your lover leaves you or the person you newly admire doesn’t love you back. Or it recalls the friend you lost to love, the suicide that happened because he or she could not bear the hurt to love lost.

Yeah! Now we’re talkin’, right? Steve’s a great artist; I take nothing away from him. But in this case, I provided the angst; Steve merely served as a Polaroid in capturing my honest yet dignified expression of emotional pain.

You can find more of Steve van Gelder’s work at wouldstock.com.

Posted in: News at 11:43 pm Mon, Feb 19, 2007.

3 comments

1. 

   Shawno says:
   Twitter:

   11:56 pm Tue, Feb 20, 2007

   Interesting stuff, Ken. But, what does any of this have to do with Morris the cat? Hmmmm?

   Reply
2. 

   Ken Turetzky says:
   

   12:48 am Wed, Feb 21, 2007

   Not a thing, Shawno. Lately, I’ve just been a bit more introspective…errr…self-absorbed.

   Reply
3. 

   Beth the violin player says:
   

   3:58 am Thu, Feb 22, 2007

   I am So on my way!

   I feel that the era of my being “tragically misunderstood” is coming to an end with these visual representations of the drama that is my ( and everyone elses … yeah whatever) life!

   -devistatingly relieved

   Beth

   Reply