Last week in Honors Modern Fiction, we delved into the world of what it means to be modern and postmodern. One of the first things we analyzed was a song called “Vincent” also known as “Starry, Starry Night” initially sung by Don Mclean, however, we listened to the version by Josh Groban. It contained lyrics such as “paint your palette blue and gray” which was the first reference to all the colors that were to come in the song. It opened with bluesy tones and made everyone in my class feel “wavy”. To me, it made me calm and relaxed. I feel like the song was trying to envoke this emotion because it would feel like they were looking at the painting. The song made the listeners picture the painting in their head.
Immediately, before I knew the song’s title, I was picturing the classic painting known as Starry Night painted by Vincent Van Gough.
The second you hear this song and look at the picture of the painting, you automatically can see the connection. This song was extremely effective in evoking the emotion that is present in the painting. It utilizes many descriptive words and seasons that can connect the two. Some people in my class and my mom (who clearly do not know art) did not think the two pieces of art worked together. Either they weren’t thinking about the right painting or weren’t paying attention to the song. It is very clear that these two pieces of art are iconic in their own ways, considering the song “Vincent” has been sung by many popular artists such as Elle Goulding. And the painting has been recreated by one of my friends who dressed up as Starry Night for Halloween It is also a Snapchat filter and there are so many 21st century items that have a “recreation” of Starry Night on them.
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