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Thomas E. Breitenbach (born July 29, 1951 in Queens, New York)〔''U.S. Public Records Index'', Vols 1 & 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010.〕 is a self-taught American artist best known for his painting ''Proverbidioms'', a raucous and comical depiction of over 300 common proverbs and clichés. He also collaborated with Jim Morrison of The Doors, shortly before Morrison's death, on a painting intended for use on his ''An American Prayer'' album. Breitenbach studied architecture and fine arts (in an independent study program) at the University of Notre Dame, before leaving to become the youngest person to receive the Rome Prize Fellowship in visual arts. Breitenbach declined the second year of the fellowship and, inspired by the castles and museums of Europe, returned home determined to build a castle-studio to house his art and eventually become a museum. During the planning stages he painted ''Proverbidioms'' and later published it. ==Periods and technique== Breitenbach’s earliest works are dark allegories spurred by his vision of man’s nature as being hopelessly irrational and violent. Influenced by Carl Jung, Breitenbach's subjects are constructed using archetypal symbols and are intended to provoke strong emotional responses from the observer. Breitenbach emphasizes that these paintings are not surrealism, because surrealists tend to use personal and dream symbols which are not an effective form of language. He was awarded the Rome Prize in 1973 by the Society of Fellows of the American Academy in Rome in the visual arts category.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Directory by Year Index: 1971-1980 )〕 In 1974, Breitenbach started work on a painting of contemporary proverbs, idioms, and clichés, after feeling challenged by a review of Pieter Bruegel's sixteenth-century painting of Dutch proverbs, ''Netherlandish Proverbs'', suggesting that language was particularly colorful "back then".〔Mieder, Wolfgang (2008). ''Proverbs Speak Louder Than Words''. The University of Vermont. pp 267-269. ISBN 978-1-4331-0378-0〕 This became ''Proverbidioms'', his best-known work, completed in 1975 at the age of 24. This large painting illustrates over 300 common expressions like "You are what you eat", "butterflies in the stomach", "the rat race", and so on, and identifying the sayings became a kind of puzzle for his audience. ''Proverbidioms'' has been turned into a poster, jigsaw puzzle, and appeared on the TV show ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' in a few episodes.〔 Breitenbach's extensive use of humor in this work was a major departure from the mood of his early paintings, though social commentary is still present in ''Proverbidioms'', for example in the sewer pipe running into the river, and the white female vs. black male representing "I've got a bone to pick with you," a reference to both the women's and the civil rights movements. Breitenbach further maintains that much is revealed about man’s nature through the literal painting of his expressions. Therefore, the artist did not shy away from placing wise expressions such as "Don't put all your eggs in one basket", and "Many hands make light work", alongside crude ones like, "flat as a board" and "knockers". In 1980 the artist began publishing posters of this and other works. These became quite popular both for their entertainment value and for use in education. After his marriage in 1979 and the birth of his first child, Breitenbach's paintings became particularly colorful. He blames this on the ultra-bright toys that were strewn about the house, but his painting technique also enhances this. He uses traditional Flemish oil-glazes, a meticulous process.〔 Light penetrates the transparent paint layers, striking the pure-white gesso panels (made of chalk and glue) and reflecting back at the viewer, creating a luminous effect. Breitenbach went on to paint a dozen more such humorous puzzle paintings, often with specific themes (see "Major Works", below). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「T. E. Breitenbach」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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