Like many — perhaps most — people, I come with a sense of reverence and awe to museums. Rightly so. Great works of art, the genius of human hands and minds, are awesome achievements. But not all art is solemn or weighty. Some of it is playful. Think of so much of Mozart, think of Joseph Haydn’s Surprise Symphony, think of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s gift wrapping Central Park in saffron yellow robes!
It was surely with a sense of mischief and foolery that James Arneson conceived of and sculpted this art work, shown for our delight at the Yale University Art Gallery:
He calls it The Last Gasp. Well, what would you call it?
(Be sure to catch the pots and pans and kitchen implements in the background. More foolery, although not by Arneson.)
Touch2Touch 
“The Last Call” 😆
Great shot hon! 😀
LikeLike
PS: I think that’s what a man looks like in his last minutes after his wife asked him if the jeans she is wearing makes her look fat and he told her she makes it look fat. 😀
LikeLike
Made me laugh out loud at the breakfast table!
Great way to start the day, Sonel —
LikeLike
Hey, thanks!
(With open mouth)
LikeLike
‘singing in the shower (an out of body experience)’ ?
LikeLike
Another great morning laugh! Thanks, Madame C.!
LikeLike
What a pleasure it’s been catching up on your posts, Judith! And being able to explore Yale’s art collection through your always interesting and observant lens. Life has overtaken me lately, in both good and bad ways, and left me a rarer visitor to the blogging world. I think I’d call this chap Drowning Man!
LikeLike
Hope the Drowning Man association isn’t triggered by Life’s overtaking waves! There are smooth times and turbulent times, keeping us on our toes, I guess. (Wow, what a mixing of metaphors!)
Summertime’s made it hard for me to keep focused on blogs also.
Wishing you smooth sailing ahead for a good long relaxing time.
LikeLike
Interesting, Gemma!
Karen called it Drowning Man; you guys are on the same wave length.
You live so close to the sea, and love it so much — how ironic that drowning should be your fear.
LikeLike
I would call it “The Last Laugh” He looks as if he is giving a defiant “ha” Remarkable work. Thanks for sharing it.
LikeLike
I suspect you’re very close to the artist’s intention.
It is amazing, though, isn’t it? Something so PRESENT about it, he’s right in our midst, in our faces.
LikeLike
I don’t know WHAT I’d call it, but that title scares me! My worse nightmare is of drowning, hence fear of water, and of course, an inability to swim. I can’t even stay in the shower long enough before I start looking like Gasp Man here! Next time Donatello, Rodin, or Sylvia Shaw Judson please!!! 😉
LikeLike
He looks like he’s singing, not gasping. I’d call it “Ode” and let it go at that.
LikeLike
And that’s you and Mrs. Carmichael both voting for singing!
He’s proving to be a kind of Rorschach test.
LikeLike
This baritone just got a lead role at the Met. Wouldn’t you sing in the shower too!
LikeLike
Another morning grin!
Thank you, Hub.
🙂
LikeLike
His head’s come off and he’s still mocking us: “Fooooools!”
LikeLike
Oh, my! Yet another interpretation, and a darker one —
I’m so glad I posted this photo, the comments are fascinating.
Thank you, Tobias!
LikeLike
I would call it the first hurray. The end of a new beginning?
Shakti
LikeLike
It seems that it all depends on how you look at it!
I’m so glad you weighed in with your interpretation. Do check the other comments to see how many different points of view there are!
Thanks so much for visiting, and especially for leaving your comment.
LikeLike
“An argument in favor of sunscreen”
LikeLike
Far out!
😉
LikeLike
Is that… ls that Sean Connery?
LikeLike
Can it be? No, probably not.
But now that you mention it, could be a likeness!
😉
LikeLike
Oh, I do have the hardest time in the Contemporary galleries. More so than any other. I supposed beauty is in the eye of the beholder – oy!
LikeLike
Contemporary art can be very demanding. I don’t care for whole chunks of it, but there are things that I do appreciate. It can take a lot of time to begin to be comfortable with. Also, beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but the eyes are in the head, and what goes on in the head —well, complicated only begins to describe it.
🙂
LikeLike
Last Gasp could be a very good title as the work seems to depict a man who has been underwater. He looks like a trawler man and maybe the sea has finally caught up with him. It’s an interesting face – a drowning man? Possibly. And if art is meant to challenge the boundaries of our acceptance then this may be doing just that if we assume that we interpreted what the artist is presenting correctly! Difficult, isn’t it 🙂
LikeLike
That’s quite a yarn you’re spinning around the gent! (Since yarns belong to old sea salts, that’s appropriate.)
This is quite the puzzle piece! It was certainly eye catching when we were strolling through the galleries!
Your comment reminds me of a poem by Stevie Smith which includes these well-known lines:
Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning.
LikeLike
That’s an interesting poem. Hadn’t heard of Stevie Smith (apart from an old work friend who was been called to rewire heaven at a young age a few years back). Must read some more of the poet you mention – thanks for the heads-up Judith 🙂
LikeLike
Stevie Smith was an English woman poet, who also wrote a few novels. She was a rather odd and complicated person, who died in 1971. There was a movie about her, “Stevie,” some time ago that I remember as being very good.It starred Glenda Jackson (automatically puts it in a “good” category for me.) I think you might like some of her poetry, stylistically plain stuff. “Not Waving, But Drowning” is her most famous poem.
Always fun to introduce friends!
LikeLike
Thanks Judith 🙂
LikeLike