Press Release, february 11th 2010
PRESS RELEASE - february 11th, 2010 - Dutch Performer Van Eck Offers a New Explanation of Van Gogh's Iconic Painting "The Potato Eaters"
"One of the Family," from 'Van Gogh by Van Eck,' Explores Famed Painter's Yearning to Belong
Van Gogh famously said that "The Potato Eaters," an early Masterpiece from 1885 (see painting below), was meant to convey the idea that hard working people had "used the same hands with which they now take food from the plate to dig the earth... and had thus earned their meal honestly" (http://bit.ly/cY5Fj7). Widely thought to evoke a depressing tone, performer/producer Diederick Van Eck has reinterpreted the painting with an uplifting song on his new album 'Van Gogh By Van Eck.'
In a jazz-rock piece called "One of The Family," Van Eck illuminates Van Gogh's personality, his loneliness, and his yearning to be a part of a family. Exploring the scene of the "Potato Eaters" from the point of view of the Van Gogh, he sings:
Someday I'll paint the shapes and colors of this sight,
But I'm one of them tonight...
One of the family tonight.
"I sensed his longing to belong to a family like this one, as he sits - a part, but apart - of the life in this spare, dark kitchen lit by a single oil lamp. Vincent notices, with quiet heartache, the way the wife's soft eyes seek her husband's approval and attention...", Van Eck explains.
Dr. Fred Leeman, Curator Emeritus of the Van Gogh Museum of Amsterdam concurs, "Vincent's relationship with his own family, especially with his father was tense, to say the least. No doubt he was craving to belong to a family. In 'The Potato Eaters' he creates a substitute family of poor farmers - who're having dinner under an oil lamp after a hard day's of work - that embodies his longing. The simplicity of their self-evident togetherness is a moral example for 'civilized people' like the Van Gogh family. This song reminds me somehow of Steely Dan's former approach to music. It's a right lyrical and a warm interpretation of this dark painting, which to me puts it in a different 'framework' or perspective."
'Van Gogh by Van Eck,' Van Eck's imaginative musical rendering of Van Gogh's art, life and passions, interprets the artist in songs based on 12 of his most famous paintings. The album, which includes a deluxe, 44-page art book produced with the participation of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, has sold 50,000 copies in Holland and is now available through iTunes, Barnes and Noble.com and Amazon. It will be available via traditional retail Feb 15.
Van Eck plans to expand the project in the coming year with additional products including a Broadway-bound musical and a sumptuously designed audio book.
http://vangoghbyvaneck.com
http://shorefire.com/clients/vangoghvaneck
For more information on Van Gogh by Van Eck, please contact Diana D'Angelo (ddangelo@shorefire.com) or Chris Taillie (ctaillie@shorefire.com) at Shore Fire Media, 718.522.7171
