paint it black
A BUTCHER'S #45
A BUTCHER’S hook/look (Cockney rhyming slang)
redact-a-van
A companion photo to last week’s ‘mixed message’ bakery photo
What do I like about this? The windows in the van are echoed in the building behind and the blacked out writing on the side has been tagged - that’s enough for me!
painting it
The black pigment used for the ground in Roman frescoes has been found to be carbon based soot, and the resinous pine trees were the prime source to create the best black pigment (issue #38 Scaled for pine trees). There were production centers, purpose built for the volume needed (and to control the smoke). But even then, these ‘factory-made’ carbon black pigments cost more to make and buy - cheaper alternatives included bone black, made using dug up charred materials from graves, mixed with gum. ‘Black’ will continue in another post - there’s much more.
I always liked the way these small scenes were painted - they’re the focus while floating in a field of background color. So in 1992, I started on a series where I wanted the viewer to be reminded of this 3rd style of Roman wall painting while I introduced a 1950’s pin-up decal to the surface. Another goddess from another time.
You can see the rest of the series here. Looking at these now, I can’t believe I had the patience to do all that detail work!
sing a song
There is something really appealing about these blackbird pie vents - mum had one, we have one.
inquiring minds - What do they do? The idea is that they let the steam escape from double-crust pies while baking in the oven, preventing juices bubbling over and the crust sagging in the center. OK. Now onto……. the first verse of this traditional English nursery rhyme (first dated 1744).
Sing a song of sixpence / A pocket full of rye /
Four and twenty blackbirds / Baked in a pie
When the pie was opened / The birds began to sing
Wasn't that a dainty dish / To set before the king?
And what is that about? I had to look into it.
Apparently it would have been quite the dish for a really fancy feast in the 16th century…. the guests were all seated, napkins tucked in, the pie is cut open and songbirds would fly out. ‘Four and twenty’ might sound like a lot of birds to pack into a pie, but one pie depending how big it was, could fit 3 parakeets or 6 finches. Fun! (hey, there was no TV)
How could they bake live birds in a pie? Well, it seems they weren’t baked, but inserted. One method was to bake the pie, a big one, with an inner wall and fill that space with bran to prevent the lid from falling into the central cavity. The cook could then cut a hole in the bottom of the pie crust, empty the bran and then shove the birds in.
The coin is a (1948 King George VI) sixpence I have. First minted in 1551 and used through to decimalization in 1971
sandy black
(not a ‘60s Brit singer)
This year’s Summer break - some of the beaches not too far from Rome have black volcanic sand - a reminder of the area’s volatile past
meanwhile, black in Rome
while sorting stuff in Anna’s childhood home, we find her records - here’s one: paint it black. This has to be the best single (my opinion). Of course, it’s nicely worn out (completely knackered) - loved too much, as well as being played on her portable battery powered 45 record player - a mangiadischi
mangia dischi - It’s in the name: ‘it eats records’! I’d never heard of these before but they were really big in Italy - I mean how great was this? There were quite a few variations around, all in bright ‘70s colors that definitely predate the bright i-mac colorful appeal.
The 1968 original was designed by Mario Bellini. Very cool. Strangely (to me anyway), this 45 player came after the Philips portable cassette player that I had.
Here is something very odd - I just noticed on the sleeve (and after a quick check, on all the different releases)……‘paint it (comma) black’ comma? huh?
watch paint it black on Ready, Steady, Go in 1966 (a bit out of sync but it’s still pretty great - watch to the end, it’s wild)
Fascinating to get a glimpse of the world through your perceptions and mind. I enjoy every post!
Lots of, interesting observations in this one.
Nice work. 🥰