Okay this is pretty cool. Melanie’s brother Tim is a college student studying art in Austin. He’s really good at what he does and has received several commissions already. Melanie just got an email from him that he was commissioned to paint a mural for Merle Haggard for his new video of the song “America First.” (You can see the video at that link.)
I’ve put his photos up on my .Mac web page. He painted the mural of the USA, while another guy painted the words around it. They were given one night to come up with the concept and then paint it. They said, here are the lyrics, pick a room, see you in the morning.
Tim also painted a portrait of Haggard that will be taken on tour with him and then be put in his studio afterward.
The video was filmed in an abandoned section of a Texas state hospital that was built in 1857. They said they are going to keep it there permanently as part of the historical site. Very cool.
(N.B. I don’t necessarily agree with the sentiment expressed in the lyrics of the song itself, but this is still cool.)
Technorati Tags: art, country music, Merle Haggard, music video
Image Credit
- haggard3-tm.jpg: Own photo
Speaking abandoned state hospitals, check out the galleries of this site that features abbandoned institutional and industrial architecture. I stumbled across this site last week. It’s pretty cool.
Several long closed state hospitals in Massachusetts are featured. One of particular personal interest is the former Danvers State Hospital (a.k.a. Danvers Lunatic Asylum ca. 1874) that was closed in 1992. There is a nice aerial view on the news pageplus a separate gallery. Massachusetts has actively sought to de-institutionalize the mentally ill since the early 1970’s (another topic).
Sadly, despite the efforts of local preservationists to save the historic property from destruction by developers. Apparently, the facility was recently sold and most of the campus including 2/3 of the historic Kirkbride Building will be leveled. The property will become a residential development.
I forgot the links…
http://www.opacity.us/index.php
http://www.opacity.us/main.php
http://www.opacity.us/site22.htm
Enjoy!
So, who’s “walking on the fightin’ side of me” now???
Update:
I wrote my brother asking for the backstory, which I was sure would be an interesting tale. Seems I was right. Here’s what he said:
[continued]
[the story continued]