Author: Trey Markel
Did you know that the RCA logo was originally a famous painting by Francis Barraud called His Masters Voice. For those of you who've lived in a cave for the past half century, it's a painting of a fox terrier named Nipper sitting in front of an old Gramophone listening to a sound that obviously puzzles him a bit, the voice of his deceased master. The image was so powerful in the early days of the record industry that it was adopted as the logo of the Victor Talking Machine Company, which would later on become RCA Victor in 1909. All records made by the company after that were referred to in the industry as HMV (His Masters Voice) records.
Today, RCA is owned by EMI, which is also the parent company of JVC, and the HMV logo is known throughout the world. Its copyright expired in 1989, after several RCA ownership changes, so the famous dog painting of Nipper is now the property of the general public. Its latest appearance in a film was in the 2006 movie Superman Returns, when an HMV radio is shown in the home of the young Clark Kent in the opening scenes. Ironically, the HMV radio was never sold in the United States, so the prop is a dead giveaway that the film wasn't made in the US. It was in fact filmed in Australia.
Dogs Playing Cards
If you live in the United States, you have seen and most likely own at least one depiction of the famous Dogs Playing Cards paintings that were painted in the early years of the Twentieth Century. Did you know that there are actually sixteen of these paintings altogether? They were commissioned in 1903 by a company called Brown and Bigelow to be used as advertising for their cigars. The artist, C.M. Coolidge, had no idea that his works would become famous American icons. Though considered relatively cheap home décor today, the original oil paintings are worth quite a bit. On February 15, 2005, the originals of two in the set, A Bold Bluff and Waterloo, were auctioned together for $590,400. Before that time, the most ever paid for a Coolidge was $74,000.
The Dog
There is one dog painting that stands apart from the rest because of its significance to the art world and artists everywhere. The Dog, a painting done in the home of Spanish artist Francisco Goya some time between 1819 and 1823, is one of the famous "Black Paintings" he left behind at Quinta del Sordo. The dog itself in the picture is only a small head peaking out over a dark mass that slopes upward and framed against a dirty ochre sky that highlights its features. The image was originally painted with oils onto the wall of the villa, but was transferred to canvas after Goya's death. In the art world, it is said to be one of the first Symbolist paintings of the Western world, depicting a powerful image of man's struggle against seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
Saved and The Distinguished Member of the Humane Society
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, best known for his lion sculptures in Trafalgar Square, London, created a dog painting called Saved in 1856 which depicts a Newfoundland dog saving a small child from drowning. Eighteen years previous to that he had used the same dog breed for his now famous The Distinguished Member of the Humane Society. Each of the dogs portrayed, which may actually be two images of the same animal, are of the black and white variety of Newfoundland not particularly common at the time. His obvious love for this particular breed made Landseer famous with dog kennels and shows around the world. The Landseer Newfoundland is named after him.
Blue Dogs and the Legend of Loup Garou
In 1992, George Rodrigue, a Cajun artist from New Iberia, Louisiana, painted a series of paintings called The Blue Dog Pictures which were made popular by an advertising campaign done by Absolute Vodka. The blue dog has popped up in numerous other venues since then, but it wasn't created for commercial purposes. Rodrigue based his paintings on the Cajun legend of Loup Garou, the werewolf that is said to haunt the swamplands surrounding Acadiana and New Orleans. Parents teach their children morality lessons using the character and the commercial use of the blue dog has softened its image, but both Cajun and ancient American Indians still declare there's a factual basis for the story. Is there a werewolf in the bayou?
Sun Dogs in the Skies Above Stockholm
Vädersolstavlan, translated as The Sun Dog Painting, was produced in 1535 at the behest of King Gustav Vasa of Sweden. Though not what you'd call a traditional dog painting, this timeless masterpiece is regarded as the first depiction of the atmospheric phenomenon known as sun dogs, a condition that was considered by the people of the time to be a sign from above. King Gustav conscripted the painting to prove that an occurrence of sun dogs on April 20 of that year was not a cherubic response to his switch from Catholicism to the Protestant faith, but the painting was so powerful it actually seemed to the superstitious people of the time that the event was a divine manifestation. The controversy and subsequent persecution of the artists, Chancellor Olaus Petri and clergyman Laurentius Andreae, made the painting a highly sought after piece of artwork. It is also the oldest depiction of Stockholm itself. The original has been lost, but a copy from the 1630s can still be seen at Storkyrkan Church in Stockholm.
A Dog Painting of Your Favorite Breed
The classics may not be the right choice for your home and that's okay. You can find paintings of your favorite dog breeds in many different forms at a number of easy to get to locations. Pet stores have them, as do gift shops and department stores. Adorn your walls with images of your favorites or classics produced centuries ago. Your final choice is entirely up to you and will be different from anyone else's. The only real common bond between dog owners is their love of the animal itself. Others will know looking at your walls and mantles that you share that love.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/his-masters-voice-and-other-famous-dog-paintings-3829742.html
About the Author: More information on dog paintings. There are all sorts of dog pictures that ABC offers. Copyright (c) 2010 Trey Markel
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The end of the vinyl record has become a common prediction by all in the music industry. Records should be a dead music format by now, but they have persevered through many technological changes in the music industry.
In today's world of iPods and digital downloads, where thousands of songs fit as a nice little package, how has the vinyl record managed to compete?
Recent research shows that young people enjoy the physical experience they get with a vinyl record, and the interaction between them and the record player. There is a certain ritual one must perform to play a record, and much to the chagrin of the digital world, the youth of the world is receptive to this type of interaction.
For some, collecting vinyl records has become an obsession, a life long journey to hidden masterpieces locked away in the attic and cellars around the globe. For others, only have a few selected gems from their favorite band or recording artist is enough to satisfy their collection demand.
Then there is the thrill hunting and scouring the websites and online auctions in search of a rare collector's item or a record for their collection. For the more adventurous, there are numerous flea markets, rummage sales, flea markets and similar areas. There they can search through dusty crates and boxes in hopes of finding the next special addition to their already growing vinyl collection.
And it is not just the music that is hunted for. Cover Art, including what could be called Pin-up Art on record albums, is collected. Since Alex Stone White designed the first album cover for Columbia Records in 1939, album art has been highly collectible and is a part of music history.
Classic album covers like the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, Janis Joplin's Cheap Thrills (by Robert Crumb) to Led Zeppelin 'Physical Graffiti are icons. Some bands added looked to world-renowned artists for their album covers and concepts for their latest releases, including The Rolling Stones, who used Andy Warhol's design idea for their album, Sticky Finger.
For some, collecting vinyl is an investment. Not only a financial investment, but a cultural one as well. Vinyl records are part of pop culture as we know it and certainly part of the rock and roll era. Top grade vinyl records with its album art and music is a very important part of this phenomenon.
But the one thing that sets vinyl apart from all other musical formats is that vinyl records often present the best sound. There is no substitute for quality of the music heard on vinyl, certainly no current digital counterpart. And for just that, the vinyl record will continue to survive, if not thrive.
About the Author Author Robert Benson writes about rock/pop music, vinyl record collecting and operates Collectingvinylrecords.com, where you can secure your copy of his ebook called "The Fascinating Hobby Of Vinyl Record Collecting." Robert can be contacted at robert@collectingvinylrecords.com
