Bernie Taupin: Ragged Glory
ON VIEW
November 2-November 19, 2023
OPENING RECEPTION
November 2, 6-8pm
RSVP (required)
LOCATION
413 West Broadway
New York, NY
Ragged Glory II, 2013
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Bernie Taupin (b 1950. Sleaford, United Kingdom) is a life-long artist. In the early 1990’s painting became the main thrust of his creative endeavors. In his early work Taupin was inspired by ground-breaking abstract expressionists including Franz Kline, Mark Rothko and Hans Hoffmann, and Anselm Kiefer in scale and materials.
Taupin says, “As in any creative field, we start by emulating work we like, following the path that ultimately leads to finding our own vision, a style we feel is original and unique in its own beliefs, on its own merits.”
Taupin artwork evolved from Ab-Ex explorations to a level of self-satisfaction followed by experimentations with text-based content and minimalist pop-art concepts. By 2016 and 2017 works become sculptural constructions off and through the canvas and bound with cord and wire. Expressing with found objects and repurposed material and artifacts, Taupin’s multi-layered creations include manipulated flags, scorched canvas, wax, wire, wood, cardboard, fabric, resin.
“The imagination is the most powerful tool artists possess enabling us to conjure up beautiful distraction for the eyes and ears. My dimensional work is simply the visual extension of what I have spent my life creating through words.”
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1950 Born in very rural northern England on a farm in a house with no electricity. Taupin's earliest education came from his mother reading him English classics including the narrative poetry of Alfred Lord Tennyson and Lord Byron and exploring picture books of the paintings of JMW Turner. Bernie’s father, a multi-decorated World War II veteran, became a cattle hand after the war.
1958 Growing up in post WW-II Europe, with appreciation that America lead the way to victory, Bernie’s earliest imaginations aligned himself with the dreams of America. Fascinated by the history of America and the American West, 8-year old Bernie begins to write and dreams of becoming a true American cowboy.
1967 The 17-year old Taupin answered an advertisement for new song-writers placed by London’s Liberty Records. Meets, begins work with Reginald Dwight.
1968 Writes “Your Song”.
1969 Completes lyrics for album, “Empty Sky”.
1970 Completes lyrics for albums “Elton John” and “Tumbleweed Connection”.
1970 Shares the limelight at the Troubadour, Los Angeles with future rock-star, Elton John. 1970. Visits Museum of Modern Art, New York, experiences Abstract Expressionism.
1970 - Present Writes lyrics for over 700 songs including Tiny Dancer, Bennie and the Jets, Candle in the Wind, Crocodile Rock, Rocket Man, Daniel, I’m Still Standing and more …
1971 Releases spoken word album of poetry, “TAUPIN”.
1985 Buys a ranch in California; becomes a real ‘brown dirt cowboy’, training and competing non-pro cutting horse circuit.
1988 Writes autobiography, A Cradle of Haloes: Sketches of a Childhood.
1990 Becomes US citizen.
1991 Writes/publishes a book of poems, The Devil at High Noon.
1992 Receives Johnny Mercer Award. Inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame.
1995 Converts music studio at the ranch into large art studio.
1996 Forms band, Farm Dogs, two albums, Immigrant Sons and Last Stand in Open Country.
2003 First art exhibition, Los Angeles.
2010 - 2014 Hosts weekly American Roots Radio show from the ranch studio on Sirius XM.
2010 - 2023 Art Exhibitions: Aspen. Atlanta. Austin. Beverly Hills. Bridgehampton. Chicago. Dallas. Denver. Edmonton. Houston. Los Angeles. Miami. Nashville. New York. Palm Beach. Palm Springs. San Diego. San Francisco. Toronto. Vancouver.
2020 Oscar with Elton John. Best Original Song 92nd Academy Awards, ROCKETMAN movie.
2021 Exhibits 60 works spanning 20-years, “American Anthem” Museum of Biblical Art, Dallas.
2022 Receives Commander of the British Empire for his Contribution to Music.
2023 London premier artwork exhibition, collaboration w Terry O’Neill (created 2015).
2023 Hatchette Books releases Bernie Taupin “Scattershot: Life, Music, Elton and Me.”
2023 New York Times Best Selling author.
2023 Inductee, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Please join us on the evening of November 2nd as we present a selection of Bernie Taupin’s American Flag inspired compositions and celebrate his induction into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.
“My father was a quiet soldier who went to war in the desert fighting Rommel’s Afrika Corps before he became part of the “Forgotten Army” that pushed the Japanese out of the jungles of Burma. He won several medals for bravery, but never discussed his experiences. Reserved and modest, he chose to store them away until I grew to an age were my inquisitiveness forced his hand. Needless to say he remained a soldier all his life even after he was long out of uniform. I say this with a sense of pride; I also say it as a means to establish my feelings for symbols of patriotism, the foremost being the flag that flies above that which we serve.
Of all the flags of all the nations, you would be hard pressed to find one having a more far-reaching effect on the psyche of the world than our own Stars and Stripes. There are flags, and there are flags, and then there is Old Glory, its dramatic symbolism and powerful connotations reverberating with undeniable influence. Nations may quibble, but no other country displays its flag with more diligence and fervor than the U.S. On the main street of my little town in southern California, you can stand in the gas station and see eight American flags flying above grocery stores, barber shops, coffee houses, schools and private homes. There is a bond between the American people and their flag that cannot be duplicated anywhere else in the world. The handling of the flag, however, comes with an explicit set of rules, and this is where ideology and interpretation can clash.
There is a rigid respect and almost clinical kid glove approach to flag etiquette that one might argue seems ironic given its history. It’s a touchy subject made all the more sensitive given the nature of my work that some may interpret as disrespectful. Rest assured my motives are honorable. Every slash and burn, every stain and embellishment, all the billowing, twisting and folding, stitching and deconstruction are intended to project a sense of strength and resilience in the face of abject adversity. The correct way to dispose of a flag is by destroying it in a dignified manner preferably by burning it, while my way of respecting it is by breathing new life into it.
The United States flag has been shot through, shot down, trampled under foot and hidden under the floorboards of POW camps. She’s been defaced by our enemies, ripped by ill winds, raised at Iwo Jima and rescued from the rubble of 9/11. Between 1777 and 1960 the flag has changed face 27 times embracing its extended horizon. It has forged heroes and inspired poets, painters and authors. It is celebrated in song and eulogized like a living breathing entity.
I am equally as thrilled as others by the reverence afforded her and the pageantry that unifies great crowds whenever our anthem is played and that pristine beauty snaps in the wind. Although having said, that I think I’m always going to be a little bit in love with the organic grass roots version, slightly rough around the edges and flapping above some small town county courthouse - that ragged old glory.”
