GERALD LAING b.1936

The Kiss 2

Gerald Laing (1936 - 2011)

Lincoln Convertible, 1964. Oil on irregular, shaped canvas 185 x 282 cm (73x111 in)

“Images from the Zapruder home movie of the assassination of JFK (1963) were published in Life magazine soon after the event. These became the source for my painting, which shows parts of two sequential frames. The division between these two frames is the straight line along the bottom of the car, the Lincoln Continental, a superior – and enormous – convertible. To call attention to this I extended the tail of the car beyond the edge of the frame on a shaped canvas. For some reason I also felt bound to paint coloured dots to commemorate the tragedy, the only time that I have ever done so. I usually paint black dots. I intended to convey a Buddhist meaning, where colour rather than black is associated with mourning. It also enabled me to clarify two important visual features of the drama – Jackie Kennedy; pink suit and pill-box hat, and the yellow roses held by Governor Connolly of Texas”. – GL

http://geraldlaing.org/catalogue/lincoln_convertible