Claude-Angele BONI's It's Alright, Ma + Eden

"It's alright Ma I'm only bleeding and
there are no truths outside the gates of Eden"

Over the years I have frequently repeated the quote, "If a man is worth knowing at all, he is worth knowing well." The saying applies to women equally well, obviously, and the one I am applying it to here is Claude-Angele BONI, a French artist who has been immersed in Dylan-inspiration for five decades or more. 

In 1993 she published a book of her Dylan-themed paintings and collages titled Stuck Inside of Mobile (With a Rhapsody for Bob Dylan.) The more I see of her work the more I have been enthralled, not simply by the imagery but by the stories behind the pictures.

Here are some notes from our correspondence that help shed light on the painting here displayed.

She first heard "Gates of Eden" and "It's Alright, Ma" in 1966. Though she did not speak English she was impressed by the few words she was able to understand. For years she listened to his songs translated into French, so it wasn't until 1976 that found Writings and Drawings and was able to understand exactly what he was talking about, word by word. "I was amazed! I started to analyse those songs so mysterious and clear at the same time, like some "charade", some enigmas, so I left aside the conception I had of him based on his special voice and his fragile and innocent look and I started to consider him as a wise sphinx," she says.

"As soon as I had been free to paint again, in 1974, I made a painting on those two songs. It was the one I chose to offer him in 1978, the year I saw him in the flesh for the first time. It changed my life. Then I started to read a lot of books on history and psychology... The Pandora Box was opened! I started to consider my environment with my eyes wide open... " 

Of the painting itself she writes:

   

"It's alright ma I'm only bleeding'' is the main title. It refers to the struggle of life and "Gates of Eden" refers to resilience and faith. The complete title might be: "It's alright Ma I'm only bleeding and there are no truths outside the gates of Eden. 

This painting is about a son who has stayed long enough with his mother and needs to 'cut the cord' as we say in French when a boy remains too long dependent on his mum. Bob Dylan on the first plane is thinking about what it takes to reach his goal only by himself. Just on his left Bacchus and his bacchanalia will show him the good side of the emancipation, but first he has to 'kill the father.'

Beginning with Elvis laying down in his swimming trunks in Hawaii, like the young David, he will have to fight his opponents with courage using tricks and weapons. Many times, he will remember his mother who blessed him when he left and as soon as his trip really begins he will have a look at the door he has to close behind him, and take a deep breath before he enters the purifying waters. 

I copied David from a picture I had of a bronze by Donatello. I had just visited the city of Firenze (Florence, Italy) and the museum Palazzo Bargello. When I saw the statue, I felt like I was meeting again someone I used to know... I felt a lot of affection for this little David. 

At the Uffizi Gallery I also had the same feeling when I saw the painting by Caravaggio of a young "mischievous" Bacchus. So It gave me the great need to start a painting with Bacchus and David and the idea to add Bob Dylan came as an evident link to David. At the back, the Virgin Mary is a copy of The Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci. As I have, first of all, an Italian background I have a lot of affinity with the Italian painters. 

Thanks for making me have this look back at my beginning.

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Related Links
French Artist Claude-Angele BONI Explains Two Dylan-Inspired Treasures
Fun With Collage: Claude-Angele BONI's Lily, Rosemarie and the Jack of Hearts, Vers. 1 & 2

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