Charles Burchfield, Swamp Thing
There’s a great Charles Burchfield show on at the Hammer Museum in LA right now. And because his mad, magnificent watercolors of swamps and nightscapes don’t reproduce that well on computer screens or in newsprint, I’ve jotted down some of his notes to give you a sense of his vision. (This picture, the only one of this enormous watercolor I could find online, is piteously small. You have to squint hard to see the startling little blue bird nearly hidden in the center left of the frame. It’s a touch of brightness that David Lynch would very much admire.)
Song of the Telegraph Pole
Watercolor, painted 1917-1952
Listen long to the singing of the telegraph poles. It sounds more weird and beautiful by moonlight…
Each pole has a distinct tone. A steady throbbing sound — the poles, once trees, still are full of life which is expressed in this pulsating sound.
Seems a voice from the center of the earth.
Charles Burchfield
Salem, August 4, 1914
