This multimedia still life concept blossomed from a painting I did of the 1944 noir film “Laura.” My mission is to create an homage to the film, featuring in depth references to plot, dialog, actors and the director. A deep dive into escapism.
All handmade items are fictional and created by me digitally, they include: record album cover (front & back; record company logo, song titles, hand inked illustration on back, catalog number), record album label, hardback book cover & whiskey bottle label.
Can you find all the film references throughout the handmade items? Each detail shot below cites its references.
“The Siege of Babylon, Long Island” – title is part of a quote by Waldo Lydecker when he recognizes detective Mark McPherson. I digitally created the book cover and had a lot of fun weathering the print, then I formed it to fit a 1954 hardback book I bought from Friends of the Library sale.
“The Siege of Babylon, Long Island” – book publisher, “Portrait Books,” is a reference to the portrait of Laura that McPherson falls in love with.
“White Webb Whiskey” – whiskey name refers to Clifton Webb who played Waldo Lydecker and that he metaphorically spun webs around the other characters. The distillery is a nod to Otto Preminger who directed the film.
“Treadwell Tones” – record label is based on Ann Treadwell. Since she was wealthy I figured she’d happily fund Shelby’s musical career. The logo image is TT as a double beamed 8th note.
“One Rainy Afternoon” – record album front cover features the title, taken from the film’s opening narrative; “Shelby Carpenter Orchestra” is a reference to Vincent Price’s character’s name; Treadwell Tones (based on Ann Treadwell) and catalog number is taken from a license plate in a scene outside of the police station.
“One Rainy Afternoon” – record album back cover features an illustration I did in an ink blot style (using a technique of Andy Warhol’s ad work) the fedora, whiskey glass and ashtray are a reference to the scene when McPherson is rooting around Laura’s apartment and falls in love with her portrait; the song titles are taken from dialog, mostly by Lydecker; “Cover image by Jackoby” refers to Laura’s artist boyfriend.
“I suspect nobody and everybody” – acrylic painting on stretched canvas. This is the painting I did after first watching the movie. But then I wanted to delve deeper into how to express my imagination piqued by the film.