David Bowie ~ The Stars Line Up

Bowie fans lay flowers at the mural created in 2013 by Australian street artist James Cochran.
The wall of Morley’s department store, in Tunstall Road, Brixton. It was
commissioned as part of the exhibition, 'The Many Faces of Bowie', at Opera Gallery.

David Bowie,

January 8, 1947 ~ January 10, 2016

"For God’s sake let us sit upon the ground

 And tell sad stories of the death of kings"

~ Act 3, Scene 2, Richard II, William Shakespeare

David Bowie by Bab Webbs

The path out of the woods, just as the path in, is littered with mysterious things,  wondrous adventures, and confusing signposts. As I grew up and began to leave what others declared were childish pastimes behind me, I thought I was turning the page upon those fairy tales, dark towers, haunting characters and glass slippers. But as is often the way, the path which I stumbled upon taking me out of childhood was as strewn with potent magic as all of those tales the Brothers Grimm collected and I cherished.

Gareth the Goblin King ~ Bowie in Jim Henson's  Labyrinth
Fantasy designer Brian Froud says he drew on inspirations such as Marlon Brando in The Wild One and vivid scenes from Brothers Grimm fairy tales, like the knight "with the worms of death eating through his armor."

Some would imagine that modern culture - rock music, art and fashion would not offer much in the way of education. But this would not be at all true. I was a teenager in the days before the internet, the days when households had one tv, no PC and music had to be bought at record shops and played on record players which were likely shared with the whole family.


A real treat was to record favourite songs onto a rickety cassette player so that you could turn it up as loud as you liked out of range of your parents.

We often listened to the music which meant the most to us on very poor quality recordings, but it did not matter. It was thrilling. Music, art and fashion were all linked and because we were so young most of us middle class teenagers had not encountered any of this before.

How worldly the rock stars seemed to us, though in fact they were just a few years older. The subjects contained in their lyrics intrigued, and we investigated. It opened doors to new worlds we may not have discovered by ourselves.

Maybe we could be anything. (We could be heroes, just for one day)

source unknown

I lived in California in the 70s where I got to see and even speak to several rock stars who lit up the local concert venues as they passed through. All were fascinating to us,  the music, tales of far away places and the fashions. Especially the British musicians who dressed and spoke quite differently than the local bands. 

At home in Beckenham, early 70s

Singers stick in the mind since they are centre stage. Marc Bolan, a minature perfectly formed member of the Faerie, Freddie Mercury, stunningly beautiful, elegant and graceful with a huge presence, Bryan Ferry, very masculine, handsome and charming. Robert Plant, as he himself proclaimed, 'a Golden God'. Mick Jagger, mesmerising and in command.
 

The Winterland poster for David Bowie
October 1972

My friends and I did not meet, or even speak to David Bowie. But we did have the pleasure of watching him at close quarters. Because we knew the support band we were backstage when Bowie headlined in San Francisco in October 1972, at Bill Graham's Winterland.

Bowie puts on his Ziggy Stardust face

Unbeknownst to us, sunbathing and still revelling in the long lost 'summer of love' on the shores of the San Francisco Bay, Bowie already had a musical and performing past before he released two albums in 1971, 'The Man Who Sold The World' and 'Hunky Dory'.

The Ziggy Stardust album followed in 1972.

We could only read in the English musical press how that Ziggy hysteria was in full swing in London where fans attended a show at The Rainbow dressed like Ziggy.

In the summer of 1972 he produced Lou Reed's Transformer which included the dark tale of Candy Darling taking her 'Walk On The Wild Side'.He had co-produced Iggy and The Stooges Raw Power. But that was New York, and we were San Francisco where things had a different sound and look. It took awhile for news of this extra terrestial with his Spiders From Mars to be beamed cross the hinterlands of America and land in laid back California. He was a fascinating enigma. Here was this other worldy being, somewhat ethereal, holding court over much harder edged creatures, sounds, looks and words.

He played two nights, October 27th and 28th and spent his days off in San Francisco where Mick Rock shot a promotonal film for The Jean Genie. The song was composed while travelling across the US on a chartered Greyhound bus, recorded in New York and released that November. The promo was filmed at an infamous flop house of a hotel called The Mars. It was located at 192 Fourth Street, corner of Howard, but has been demolished for some years. The location was already part of Northern California folklore, Jack Kerouac had stayed there. Bowie's presence added another layer. Later, in 1974 The Grateful Dead recorded "From the Mars Hotel" at the nearby Automatt. I can remember waiting for a bus in that part of the city and scurrying past The Mars fast. You did not wish to linger there.Although the seedier side of life in a metropolis has always fascinated me. An urban Grimms.

The Mars Hotel, San Francisco

David and Cyrinda Foxe shooting the promo film
by Mick Rock for The Jean Genie

The support band Sylvester and his Hot Band were fronted by a cross dressing boy with an amazing voice and great dance moves. The audience was small, and comprised of many local gays who followed Sylvester about dressed up in their best finery and full make up.  When Sylvester played it was always a party. We were all dancing, girls with boys, girls with girls and boys with boys.

Sylvester

Bowie's visionary manager Tony DeFries had insisted that concert promoter Bill Graham have a temporary wall built so that no one could actually see Bowie as he ascended to the stage, and the full impact would only be apparent once he was in front of us. This was an audacious request for those days but something was done so that the entrance of Bowie was quite dramatic. (It would have been anyway). Having been involved with the San Francisco Mime Troupe Bill appreciated theatre.

Ziggy Stardust

The Bowie entourage was growing at each concert venue as the tour progressed. It had a mood - slightly intimidating,self assured and almost as interesting as he. RCA had invested a lot of money to promote Bowie. Tony DeFries told the entourage that if they acted like stars people would believe them. (Which nealy fits with Andy Warhol's," Everyone will be famous for 15 minutes." quote. Bowie's tour group included bodyguards, an official photographer, a hairdresser / wardrobe mistress and administrative staff, plus all of the friends and fans who tagged on. In those days before the internet, before mobile phones and digital cameras few people took photos of everyday life as we do today. I can find no photos of him onstage there. Bowie's management MainMan banned photographers at the Ziggy Stardust concerts other than those sanctioned by them.

We sat backstage and watched. He and the band wore amazing clothes, and there were costume changes during the set. He was hauntingly pale, this red haired vision, so beautiful. We knew next to nothing about him but we did know that this creature who had lit amongst us was not one of us.

Ziggy Stardust

Michael Collins Morton wrote a wonderful review of these shows in 2009 on his blog 'Nonfiction'.

"The show at Winterland began late, but finally commenced in an impressive manner, with the flicker of a strobe light slowly increasing in speed, and the glorious sound of the "Ode to Joy" from the Symphony No. 9 in D minor by Ludwig van Beethoven, played on a synthesizer, booming out from the speakers. Although the attendance at the show was scant, it was quite clear to me, once David Bowie had taken over the stage, that the imaginative songs and alluring bisexuality of the fey Englishman had an unusual appeal. His orange hair (which had an unearthly glow and stood straight up on the top of his head), his artful use of makeup, and his striking garments all gave him the air of an otherworldly being, which he highlighted with a tempting smile and a polished display of nimble gestures. In his eyes there was an alien gleam, hinting at a hidden realm of strange practices and wayward pleasures."

I really love that last sentence. It sums up perfectly the first impression we had of David Bowie, and his alter ego Ziggy Stardust.

You can read the whole post about the night, and Bowie's later days HERE:

Many of us would love to have a time machine to take us to the Hammersmith concert where Ziggy Stardust performed for the last time. I was in another country. I never saw Bowie again, tickets sold out, other events took precedence. I was left with a vision of Ziggy, and how he played guitar. Rumour suggested that Bowie had partly created the character from Jimi Hendrix. Many rockstars were otherworldly in those days. When The Who were on the Dick Cavett show he asked Roger Daltrey where he was from and Daltrey quickly replied, 'Mars'. There was so much stardust about.And I wanted to gather armfuls of it while I could.

gathering stars

As I grew up, moved around and lived my own life David Bowie was part of the soundtrack in the background. I never knew him, but he often touched me. In hard times when I felt out of my comfort zone,a stranger living in a suburban town where I felt I did not belong, I reached for his music.

The man I married confessed that Bowie was his favourite artist and that once in a play he had turned his grey leather bomber jacket with an orange satin lining inside out to be Ziggy. Every album Bowie brought out made it's way to our house and played in the soundtrack of our lives.

Bowie and Cyrinda, San Francisco

Earthling tour, wearing Alexander McQueen, 1997.
Maybe, just maybe, my favourite photo of him

Since he has died the press have struggled with words, failing to capture what he was, who he was. All that he was and could be. What a massive legacy he left us.

'Chameleon' has often been used to describe him. It's true he had a changable quality, but not like a chameleon who alters to be invisible in it's surroundings to protect itself from predators.

Bowie was not hiding, he enjoyed being in plain sight, though he teased us with his role playing and his clues. He was storytelling.

He was shapeshifting. He was mercurial.

He knew he could show us things we had not even dreamed of.



I did not love every song or era which Bowie presented to us. But often I would return to it later. I would not have even said that he was my favourite artist, and yet I know that everything that he did was absolutely astonishing. He was not a rock star, he was more, so much more. He was a master of the craft. An Artist who brought so much to his work, who lived in many cultures and places. Shape shifting, shedding skins and taking on new ones.

Mr. Fish's Man Dress, designed by British fashion designer Michael Fish.
the cover of the U.K. release of The Man Who Sold The World

It is especially interesting to me to look back now and realise that although "The Jean Genie" spent 13 weeks in the UK charts, and peaked at no. 2, as Bowie's biggest hit thus far, in the US the best it achieved back then was No. 71. It took most of America a very long time to get Bowie, but he still chose to live there. And oh how England missed him.

DCI Gene Hunt, Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes

Eventually Bowie's music found it's way into many unexpected places and the BBC created the television series Life on Mars and character  DCI Gene "the Gene Genie" Hunt, who periodically refers to himself as 'The Gene Genie'. In the episode "A Conflict of Interests" it is playing as they enter the club. Gene Hunt also refers to himself as the Gene Genie more frequently in the sequel series, Ashes to Ashes  and his individual theme music on the latter programme is an instrumental version of "The Jean Genie" (retitled "Gene Genie"), created by series composer Edmund Butt.

A line of his character Gareth, The Goblin King, from Labyrinth

Most people know the story of how Bowie's health caused him to retreat following a heart attack while touring. He may have been out of the limelight for sometime, but his skill did not dim, nor his ability to astonish wane. Bowie was always at least one step ahead of us, but not hurrying away. Looking over his shoulder, beckoning us to follow his riddle strewn path.

We hadn't forgotten about him, we missed him. And then, in January 2013 he returned as quietly as he had gone. And it was as if he had never left us. The single 'Where Are we Now' appeared on iTunes on his 66th birthday, with no explanation, as if we had conjured it. The timing and the method was his own idea. The video has all of his old magic, puppets and snippets from his life. He left Tony Visconti to be what one reporter called, 'his voice on Earth' and field questions from the press.

‘The Stars Are Out’ was the second single and the video for the song appeared in February. It's a beautifully filmed and bizarre story (by Canadian Director Floria Sigismondi)with Bowie and Tilda Swinton as a handsome, immaculately dressed older couple living in a perfect home. For some reason it is fascinating to watch them shopping, perfectly attired and coiffed, bringing their goods home in a plain brown paper bag to the small but classic kitchen. Tilda's stroke of pale blue eyeliner is genius. They do ordinary things so elegantly but watching this confirms your suspicions that David Bowie could never have been ordinary. Their lives are magazine covers until they are 'bothered' by young neighbours who follow, haunt and torment them. The characters slip in and out of each other's roles, the older Bowie meets the younger one, and the perfect Tilda, driven mad by 'the stars' ends up serving raw chicken to her husband.  Andreja Pejic and Saskia de Brauw are 'the stars' who make their life a nightmare. A young Bowie is played in the video by Iselin Steiro. Maybe this was his way of saying how that we never escape the past, it is always a part of us. This must have been great fun to film and I have not yet tired of watching it.

The Stars (are out tonight)

The album 'The Next Day' followed in March with a video, again directed by Floria Sigismondi. It stars Bowie as a prophet like figure in a rock band, Marion Cotillard (who would play Lady Macbeth in 2015) as a gorgeous and beautifully made up Mary Magdalene figure with Gary Oldman as an unreliable, sexy priest.This dark, gothic tale abounds with religious symbols. There are cardinals, Joan of Arc, a virgin figure, and that woman with the crazy eyelashes. It's imagery could be seen as against the church, and there is near nudity which caused youtube to take the video down, but it actually seems to be a moral tale of some kind, which ends on a light note with Bowie thanking the participants and disappearing into thin air. There is a little bit of The Tempest here I think. A visual feast, but this one will take a long time to understand. For me at least.

'The Next Day' video characters gathered

Later in 2013 'The Next Day' was on the Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize list for Album of the year, and Bowie premiered a video to another single he had released from the album, 'Love is Lost'. The footage included wooden puppets of Pierrot and The Thin White Duke created for him by Jim Henson's Creature Shop for an unreleased video in the past. It was Bowie's idea, written, and shot in his New York office just a week before the awards ceremony. Apparently the cost of creating the video was a mere $12.99, the flash drive he bought to be able to save the video onto his camera.

All of the personas which he created remain untouched by time, somehow as fresh as when new, whole for him, and for us, to revisit. Bowie was always comfortable flitting in and out of his past, time travel was easy for him. New generations can wonder. Bowie was a master storyteller in the very best tradition. Each of his fans have their favourite period, but most of us were touched by them all.

Bowie and Twiggy, the cover for Pin Ups, 1973

Diamond Dogs 1974

In 1978 Bowie narrated Peter and the Wolf
with the Philadelphia Orchestra

Ashes to Ashes,1980
The Blue Clown, or Pierrot, was made for Bowie by costume designer Natasha Korniloff
for his Ashes to Ashes video, and was also used on the cover of Scary Monsters.

The man Who Fell to Earth
Nic Roeg's science fiction film

The Thin White Duke, by Norman Parkinson
1976 persona and character, primarily identified with his album Station to Station

Heroes album cover shoot, 1977,
photograph by Masayoshi Sukita.
© Sukita, courtesy the David Bowie Archive

The Hunger

As Nikola Tesla Christopher Nolan's 2006 film
"The Prestige"

Alexander McQueen on the cover of his 1997 album,
Eart HL I NG. The year McQueen won the British Designer of the Year award.

It would be easy to say that in his early years, as he came into our atmosphere, he was a raw talent. But this would not be entirely true. He exuded an electricity that was startling, but never raw. He took careful aim and always seemed to know where he was going. He was not an overnight success, he was always on that path. We noticed him when each of us were ready. I am reminded of his words, "there's a starman waiting in the sky, he'd like to come and meet us but he thinks he'll blow our minds" Compared to him we were all absolute beginners.

In mime makeup, 1968
by Ray Stevenson

The Man Who Fell to Earth

Although outrageous when young, Bowie aged gracefully. A rarity amongst rock stars and celebrities. He was unlike others. More than all of that.  He transcended categories. That beautiful bone structure. The fascination in his voice. The straight at us gaze.

Just days after his death, Suzy Menkes from Vogue would say in a tribute to him, "He pushed boundaries that by now have grown into an entire fashion landscape".

Tweeter Center, Tinley Park,IL. August 8, 2002.
Photo by Adam Bielawski.

backstage at the Glastonbury Festival,
coat designed by Alexander McQueen
June 25, 2000

With his daughter, 2000
Camera press, Brian Aris

a ragged suit and scarf in 2004
his last tour

Once barely known the now many recognitions, tributes and celebrations are much deserved. It is said that he was offered a knighthood, which he refused because he said that he did not need one.

Kate Moss channelled Bowie for the cover of French Vogue in January 2012.

Kate Moss

German Vogue also paid homage to Bowie as Daphne Guinness donned Ziggy Stardust makeup and was snapped by photographer Brian Adams.



In March 2012, The Crown Estate unveilled a commemorative plaque to David Bowie’s  creation, Ziggy Stardust, marking the 40th anniversary of his album, ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars’.

23 Heddon Street, just off Regent Street, London, W1
shot by the late Brian Ward in black and white and then hand coloured by artist Terry Pastor.

23 March – 11 August 2013. 'David Bowie is' exhibition spanning his whole career at The Victoria & Albert Museum, London. The David Bowie Archive gave unprecedented access to the V&A who featured handwritten lyrics, original costumes, fashion, photography, film, music videos, set designs and Bowie's own instruments. It was the fastest selling exhibition in the long history of the museum.

The exhibition is now touring internationally.

David Bowie at the V&A, the fastest-selling exhibition in the museum's history

Louis Vuitton's October 2013 advert L'Invitation Au Voyage gives
a nod to the ballroom scene from Labyrinth.

David looks right at home in Louis Vuitton's costumed
ballroom scene. 

One of three images chosen for Nothing Has Changed 2014
designer Jonathan Barnbrook

Thought to be the last photograph session.
For Black Star, by his friend Jimmy King
Wearing a Thom Browne suit

David and Iman

I am so sorry that his life was not longer than it was and my heart breaks for his wife,  children and all of those fortunate enough to have known and worked with him. I am glad that he had found haven with his family and that he also found the energy and inspiration at the end to work once more.

Looking back while writing this, listening to his music, watching the videos, reading tributes, remembering. It becomes impossible to include everything, it is so vast. And I did not set out to write a definitive guide to David Bowie. Just to bow before him, say thank you and share some of my own favourite images and times in his life.

He did so very much and also refused offers of this much again for work he either did not wish to be a part of, or was not able to complete in his time allocated. We know that there would have been so much more to come had his light not gone out.



He liked to revisit many of the stories which he previously told us. The single he released unexpectedly in 2013,  'Where Are We Now' was full of references about his days in Berlin. Now there are even more hints to unravel. Characters, costumes, places and traces of songs of which he, and we, are fond. His last wonderful gift to us, and a massive legacy, which may take us sometime to understand fully. What it means to each of us is immeasurable.

The girl with the cat tail.
In a Labyrinth like landscape
Remember the cat like girl in the Absolute Beginners video?

Major Tom, alien landscape and the girl with the tail

Is Major Tom a jewelled skull?

I will always remember the time he passed so close to where we sat. A momentary, genuine smile on that long ago night of 1972. It appeared that he glowed, as if he emitted some low voltage light in which we danced. Maybe he did. He was not one of us but I am so glad that he came amongst us. It is so painful to imagine that we will not hear or see any new things from him. I miss him already and will think of him every time that I look up.

Gathering Lost Stars, unknown source

The stars line up
 The stars line up for us tonight
 The stars line up
 The stars line up tonight to see
 To see who we are, baby.
 Let’s write our names
 High up inside the sky.

Angelo Badalamenti, Marianne Faithfull

Some of the best Tributes:

"We're painting our faces and dressing in thoughts"
Tori Amos, on twitter January 11th

The Shepherds Bush Empire

farewell from Brixton Acadamy

Heddon Street fans memorial

Poignant fan photograph. Saying goodbye.

The Stars Look Very Different Today
The New Yorker

Charlie Brown

source unknown

Paper Angels left by fan in Manchester

Remembered by fans and friends. Kate Moss.

Vogue

"After 40 years of experimentation, reinvention and innovation, during which he revolutionized the aesthetics of rock and fashion, David Bowie passed away January 10, at the age of 69. A cultural icon, he challenged traditional codes throughout his career as one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, progressing from his mod behinnings to pioneer androgyny as performance art with his legendary Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane and Halloween Jack alter-egos. We pay tribute."

 Vogue Paris tribute HERE: 

  

London newstand following his death

  

  

  

The very emotional tribute at the Brit Music Awards

NOTES:

Sources: I like to credit sources and have done my best, but have failed in many in this post. This may be a post that I revisit after time has passed. If anything I have shared belongs to someone uncredited I am more than happy to include if you let me know.

And on this subject I must say a thank you to my friend Abigail who posted on facebook the quote from Shakespeare. In doing so she perfectly captured how many of us felt and sparked the idea for this piece.

"For God’s sake let us sit upon the ground
 And tell sad stories of the death of kings"


~ Act 3, Scene 2, Richard II, William Shakespeare

A Tumblr account
Did this tumblr page belong to Bowie?
Interesting theory here about a tumblr page which surfaced just before Bowie released his material to the public. Beautifully fascinating.
Here:


Read more about Bowie and all of his material from these sites:

David Bowie Official Site


 Golden Years 


VOGUE MAGAZINE 11 January 2016, Gender Blending - David Bowie Fashion Legacy,by Suzy Menkes  HERE:


Red Cotton Candy - A very good post on how he influenced fashion, beautifully illustrated with images HERE:



Michael Collins Morton's blog Nonfiction HERE:

The Kindness of Strangers

'Catching Butterflies' by Colleen Parker
HERE:

I don't publish blog posts as often as I mean to. I have a folder full of subjects and images which whisper to me, spinning their stories like dream catchers. I continue to be delighted at the kindness of strangers (and friends) who read my little pieces and who take the time to comment, and in many cases to share information with me which had thus far eluded me.

The Dyng Year, Albert Klingner

We are well into the New Year, and although I do not like to commit to resolutions I think it is not a bad thing to just try harder to finish those things which mean something to us and enhance our lives, and possibly the life of someone else too.

People often ask me why that I write. I think most people who do so would agree with me that it fills some need. I simply must.

HERE:

Butterfly gloves by Tiny Owl Knits
HERE:

I almost always have thoughts floating round my head and must capture them and put them to paper or page before they fly away. I dislike things being forgotten whether that be people, places or words and images.

The past is full of wisdom and the older that we get we become full too. Where does it all go when we die? It is the ordinary folk who are often forgotten, and with them volumes of stories. So I think I write to share those stories.

from the things we say

The Storyteller, Albert Anker (1850-1899)

When I was little I was often sat enthralled by the old storytellers in my family, little did I think that one day it would fall to me to tell their tale along with those of many others, and my own.

I usually begin each new year looking backwards at the old one. Just briefly. I am not very good at goodbyes and I like to linger for a little while before moving on.

Joan Crawford in an art deco revolving door

The past to me is not a door which you shut firmly behind you. For me it is a revolving door which goes both ways. Always.

Like most of you, last year I said farewell to many familiar people and places. My world is less certain without the guideposts they provided and it will take more time for me to find my balance again. Over the next few weeks I want to try, very hard, to do them justice in putting a little of their stories to the page and sharing this with you so that hopefully, somewhere, sometime, someone will find them again.

Of course this year began with the death of two best beloved storytellers, David Bowie, and Alan Rickman. The loss is felt greatly by many, myself included, but then there are all of the little people who told stories quietly in smaller worlds and yet released them just as well.

Lost things often do become found and in so doing they are new again. If things such as us are remembered I believe we never completely die. Only a part of us does.

Lizzie Riches
more HERE:

I posted last Spring about paper mache eggs and boxes (which I collect) and ended the post with a lovey painting that has haunted me for sometime. I asked readers to leave me a comment should anyone know whose artistic hand had created this piece. The original post is HERE:

Woman by the fire
Lionel Percy Smythe

And, someone did. Thank you very much to Paresh Dholakia! It was especially interesting for me to have the name of this artist, Lionel Percy Smythe, because this time last year his work touched me quite deeply when I accidently came across it on a gallery catalogue. I posted a bit about him, and the story of the painting in the catalogue, 
HERE:

I had not guessed at all that this too was by his hand and without the kindness of strangers I may have never known.



I have always depended on the kindness of strangers, is a line from Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire (1947)

in the Company of Wolves

A mystical version of Santa Claus
from Arthur Rackham's Book of Pictures published in 1913.
This painting was done in 1907, pen, ink & watercolour on paper, and is in a Private Collection.
Photo © Chris Beetles Ltd, London / The Bridgeman Art Library

I've long been fascinated by the symbolism of the colour red in folklore and how this permeates into our daily life, often without us realising.  At this time of year if we think of red, it will be Santa Claus whose red costume springs to the mind of a lot of people.

Stag hook with red stone and red + blue wool blanket.
From Plumo.

There is something comforting about red in the dark winter months. The glow of a fiery hearth warming our homes and soft wool blankets and throws. And who does not love a red winter coat? Bright red ribbons tied around lovingly given Christmas presents. Shiny red glass ornaments hung on a tree, and the lush red berries of holy in wreaths, and dropped in the snow. If we are lucky enough to live where they do we may even see the Red Cardinal. Here in England we are charmed by the tiny but fierce Robin with it's red breast and he adorns many a Christmas card as well as being England's national bird.

Robin and holly

Red is a complex colour and has another, more dangerous side and many associations with myth and magic. As Autumn turns to Winter and the trees shake their colourful leaf cloaks to the ground my thoughts always turn to the woods. I love the architectural shape of bare trees and the idea that you may just glimpse something magical there in the woods which at other times of the year would be hidden to your view. We may dream of Unicorns, but If we are very lucky we might really see a White Hart. I often see the Deer who live in our local woods and I have seen the White Hart in the New Forest and in the royal hunting park near Hampton Court, Bushy Park. 

The Mystic Wood by John William Waterhouse

 But it is the Wolves which I secretly long for. Or at least a ribbon of red cloth, caught on a tree as if someone who had strayed from the path hurried past.
 

All colours have meanings and the power to change our moods. Red is not a colour for wall flowers, it is primal, capable of elicting extreme reactions. How we feel about red today began in the distant past when red was known as the color of fire and blood, associated with Mars the God of war,  and confusingly, both mahesty and liberty, therefore revolutions. It also symbolised passion as the colour of love, and of sin.

Tudor Rose, Elizabethan lady in red velvet,
Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester.

Both majesty and revolutions

Immortal passion. Gary Oldman in the red cloak of Dracula. Terrifying.

Even when used in small amounts it has a potent effect and a deep poignancy. Few colours can evoke such emotion.

This is a celebration of the colour red in a few of it's guises. The history and folklore of red has been academically covered by many and for those who wish to read more serious considerations I have included some links at the bottom of the page and am happy to add more should you know of good sources which I have left out.

I've collected lore about the colour red all of my life and am always delighted when another story appears where red is used. I do love them all.

Alas we have no snow this winter, it is just grey and very wet here in the English countryside. I long for that burst of red against a blanket of white, and this greyness inspired me to share some of my favourite reds.

Little Red Riding Hood
Sir John Everett Millais P.R.A.
The model is his daughter
oil on panel, 1864
35.5 by 25cm., 14 by 9¾in.
see bottom of page for details about this painting

Sarah Moon's rendition.
An urban black and white tale of dread.
The model is her daughter
Superb in it's simplicity.

Tribute to Red
from Surface View

The Red Hat, Charles A Buchel, 1910

Imagine winter nights in this

The lore of Apples.

Bette Davis wears a red ball gown in 1938 and ruins her reputation
as ladies should wear white

Scarlett O'Hara on the red stairs
Gone With The Wind 1939

Modern Folklore. David Hemmings drives past the red buildings in Blow Up, 1967.
Sammy Hagar pays tribute with his 'Red' album of the same street scene in 1977.

Angela Carter. The Bloody Chamber, 1979
 new stories from the base of old ones
including In the Company of Wolves which became the Neil Jorden 1984 film

Red Shoes  & Ruby Slippers
The Red Shoes (film 1948), The Wizard Of Oz (film 1939)
Vianne from Chocolat (2000) & The Lollipop Shoes (2007) by Joanne Harris

For sheer poignancy, a real life story
The girl in the red coat
Schindler's List 1993

For some it may be difficult to chose a favourite tale which has red at it's heart, but not for me. Thankfully the legacy lives on as new storytellers weave tales of dread and delight around bright red tendrils.

Modern Red, in the Cotswolds

Have you guessed which tale of red might be my favourite? Yes, it is Little Red Riding Hood. I think the reasons that I like it so much are tied to the Arthur Rackham illustrations which I have had since I was a child. And I love the dual nature of red. I always wonder if this is one of the reasons that the French version with it's sad ending, and the Grimm's version with it's happy ending. both work.

Arthur Rackham
detail from She Met a Wolf

And, in a twist and colour deviation from the red hood there is another lesser known tale which insists that in fact the hood or cape was golden, and enchanted. Andrew Lang included it in his Red Fairy Book, 1890, and called it 'The True History of Little Goldenhood'. His tale was derived from the earlier work of Charles Marelles. This version claims that before now the story has been incorrectly told. Goldenhood is the girl's name as well as her cloak and she is saved not by the huntsman but by the hood which burns the mouth o the wolf as he tries to eat her. You can read this tale in full, follow the links below.

One version of Andrew Lang's Red Fairy Book
bought from Abe's Books Here:

The only known illustration from Golden Hood
you can see clearly she is wearing a hood
and not cloak with a hood.

I tried to photograph a few of my Red Riding Hood pieces which I have collected for years, but Puff the half kitten rather got in the way. She likes to lay amongst them and because she is a magic cat the camera always focusses correctly upon her and not other subjects.

Puff with my Red Riding Hood figures.

This is a detail of the small Staffordshire figure. The Wolf seems rather shy as he is hiding under Red's skirt. This figurine is quite old and has a crack running through the bottom. 

Small Staffordshire 'Red' detail

I like to display a Parrish Relic on the large Parian figure of Red. Jen Parrish uses antique images in her beautiful creations. This one has nothing to do with the tale of Red Riding Hood but I like to combine pieces of Wolf lore with that of Red Riding Hood. Parian is a soft clay and delicate. This piece is missing a paw and a handle of Red's basket. I still love her.

Parian Ware 'Red' adorned by a Parrish Relic of Wolves

My little Red

And a favourite of mine. Tortoiseshell and Calico cats are brave and fierce and like to play in the  woods, real or metaphoric. This little painting was a tribute of the artist to her own Calico who she lost, and to mine. It is very precious to me.

Further reading and sources:

Obviously any self respecting fan of Red, and of Wolves needs to read the tale as recorded firstly Charles Perrault, and later told and retold in different versions by the Brothers Grimm.  The earliest known printed version was called Le Petit Chaperon Rouge, by Charles Perrault and may have had its origins in 17th-century French folklore.  It is believed that it was he who introduced the red hood or cap, but it is not known whether this idea was his own, or came from folklore.

For the alternative tale, The True History of Little Golden Hood from The Red Fairy Book, read more on Tales Of Faerie  Here:and the complete tale on Sur La lune Fairytales Here:

I love the writing of author Joanne Harris and have read, and re-read all of her work. She weaves an intoxicating tale with subtle under and overtures. Her own website is Here:

Being a city girl originally I was immediately struck dumb (and captivated and frightened in equal parts) by the urban depiction of Sarah Moon's Red, Here:

Terri Windling who does not just write about the land of Faerie but embodies it has written so many informative and wondrous pieces on her blog, her article about Red, Here:

Kristin's wonderful site Tales of Faerie and her piece about Red. Here:

Article about Sammy Hagar's Red album and the Blow Up connection,
Here:

The Girl in the red coat, the real story, Here:

Parrish Relics own website, Here:

Surface View who offer wonderful art for your walls and home in all kinds of mediums,
Here:

Red Riding Hood by Sir John Everett Millais P.R.A.

This was sold at Sotheby's in a sale of British and Irish Art, 19 November 2013,for the amount of 98,500 GBP  including the hammer price with the buyer's premium.  

This note is from their catalogue of that sale.

"Painted in 1864, Red Riding Hood depicts the artist's eldest daughter Effie (later Mrs James), aged six, carrying a basket of vegetables and wild flowers, at the door of Grannie's house. It is one of a series of charming portraits of Effie, dressed in various costumes, including My First Sermon and My Second Sermon painted in 1863 and The Minuet of 1866 (private collection). He often used his daughters as models and Effie's sisters Mary and Carrie appear in Waking (Perth Art Gallery) and Sleeping (private collection) of 1865. As has been pointed out, 'With child models readily available Millais was able to give free expression to feelings of parental pride and joy, as well as offer comment on the growth of his offspring, with an eye on the market for endearing images of children.' (Jason Rosenfeld and Alison Smith, Millais, 2007, p.172) Millais was probably inspired to paint Red Riding Hood following the success of James Sant's Little Red Riding Hood of 1860 which had been printed in 1863 in the Illustrated London News as a large chromotype which resulted in the sale of vast numbers of the magazine. The subject was also painted by Watts and Landseer. The moment depicted by Millais captures the tension as Red Riding Hood is about to enter the house to find the wolf dressed in her grand-mother's clothes. However the horror and danger of the story that had been first told by Charles Perrault and retold by the Brothers Grimm, is only implied."