During my recent trip to New York, I managed to catch the Albright-Knox’s exhibit on Francis Bacon [which was taken down just a few days after my departure].
I’ve been a fan of Bacon’s work since my college days, after seeing clips of him painting in one of the university’s horribly outdated documentaries. [Dear god, can that man move paint around!] I don’t recall the name of that particular documentary, however, YouTube offers some interesting options. I’ve included what I could find for your viewing [dis]pleasure. [I'm particularly fond of the first clip where Bacon rips on both Pollock and Rothko]. 
Francis Bacon Documentary – Part I
Francis Bacon Documentary – Part II
Francis Bacon Documentary – Part III
Francis Bacon Documentary – Part IV
Francis Bacon Documentary – Part V
Francis Bacon Documentary – Part VI
Bacon makes about as much sense as any artist can when confronted with the typical battery of inane questions from an interviewer, and as usual, the interviewer seems to delight in pressing Bacon into various seemingly odd corners.
But aside from all of the blathering going on in these clips, the paintings still remain interesting — Bacon’s surface treatments and technique are undeniable, no matter how weird or unappealing the subject matter.
Interestingly enough, I was mindlessly hunting through my various musical anthologies looking for suitable soundtracks for painting, when I stumbled across a compilation of Tool songs. What does this have to do with Francis Bacon you ask? Well, perhaps it was the recent immersion in Bacon’s work that made my grasshopper brain make the connection between the aesthetics used in various Tool videos and the painter’s subject matter. I don’t think it’s that much of a stretch.
You be the judge:
Sober – Tool
Prison Sex – Tool
Schism – Tool
Parabola – Tool
Ænema – Tool
Stinkfist – Tool
[Okay, this last YouTube has nothing to do with the aesthetic connection I'm making, but I like the song and decided to include it anyway even though it's set to some goofy Final Fantasy bullshit].
46 & 2 – Tool
I finally started to enjoy Bacon and DeKooning and those other “disturbing” artists when I made my own copies of their work. Actually getting physical with the art made it more accessible.
On the other hand, I adore Rothko. (Kuranes hates Rothko, though.)
I love bacon, too. Crispy bacon. And eggs. Yummmm….
solocrow
I don’t mind Rothko too much; he just strikes me as rather non-descript. Besides, I love to hear other artists rip on each other. Especially when their work is nothing alike. It’s hilariously petty.
But I’m just catty like that sometimes.
