Hello Darkness, my old friend

New, weird version for Watchmen, which I likes but was depressing.. but cool nonetheless. 

Original song by Simon and Garfunkel.

Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools", said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed
In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls"
And whispered in the sounds of silence

I love these lyrics.  This song.  So epic.  So deep.  

Georges Rouault

For me, painting is a way to forget life.  It is a cry in the night, a strangled laugh.  
~Georges Rouault  (1871-1958)

Rouault is one of my FAVORITE artists of all time.  He was trained for a time as a stained glass artist, and as evidenced above, this totally influenced his work.  Early on, he restored medieval stained glass windows. I think I am drawn to his work because  I love medieval Catholic churches and their stained glass windows :)  I would live in an old abandoned one if I could, although that would be sacrilegious, I am sure. 
Anyway, back to Georges.  A brief biography can be found Here  
He became part of the Modernist movement, and more specifically was associated with the Fauvist.  The Fauvists (wild beasts) were a group of artists who painted with extreme color.  Fauvism 

He had  an intense love for all things Medieval and he was a devout Catholic.  Because of his religious convictions, he didn't quite fit in with the other modern artists.  He worked in isolation most of his life.   Initially, his paintings dealt with the misery of the human condition.  He painted sad clowns, prostitutes, the poor.... Later, he painted saints, Old Testament figures, and Christ.  He said of his art, 
"My only objective is to paint a Christ so moving that those who see him will be converted. " 

I love this man's art.  I am inspired by his courage to paint by conviction.  Regardless of what others thought of his work, he painted with integrity.  I could go on with details of his life and other reasons why I am inspired by him, but I won't.  I just want to look at some more of his art Galleries