In a case of out with the old and in with the old, we visited Key West on the day the J. Seward Johnson sculptures of dancing couples were switched out in front of the Custom House Museum. If the couples look familiar, it's because you've seen them before - they're based on Pierre-Auguste Renoir's dancing couples.
The sculptures are 20-something feet tall, so viewing the faces at eye level is a unique experience. The artist adds expressionss not seen in the original paintings. Pictured above is "Whispering Close" from Renoir's "Dance in The City" - the eyes tell it all. She'd rather be somewhere else entirely. I like her muscular arm and the gloves. And below, the gentleman's face - he's wondering where he stands with her. Or maybe I have it wrong - is he telling her something along the lines of "Let's dance down to the port and sail away on the ship."? And she's thinking "You expect me to spend seven days on a cruise ship in an evening gown. Are you nuts? And have you even thought about how tiny those cabins are? I'll never fit my bottom half in the door!"
Below is “Time for Fun,” based on Renoir’s “Dance in the Country,” - that carnelian bonnet is unmistakable. She appears supremely happy to be at this dance. The gentleman's face is hidden in the original, here his expression is curious, and maybe her eyes are averted.
Text & Images © 2010, Lucy Mercer.
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Comments
Thanks!
Kathy: I visited the Hemingway house, but I had to look up the Wallace Stevens reference. So cool!
Fred: I knew you'd like this FLA story. Art is where you find it.
Connie Mack: I want to go back and stay for some real time. Maybe not in June, though, January is more appealing.
Bellwether: Exactly. And I like the dogs playing poker, too.