▼

Friday, October 26, 2007

145. Balloon Skull A.K.A. "The Dead Balloon"

Acrylic on Balloon. I found these dead balloons on the ground the other day and I had a flashback to the French film from the 50's "The Red Balloon" [Le Balon Rouge], which I saw probably two dozen times when I was young. Did everyone else have to watch it as a kid? Or was that just a Virginia in the 70's/80's thing? Rewatching it now I'm impressed with how simple and elegant it is, worlds away from today's kids' media.

P.S. The first batch of T-skulls #2 ordered through 10/17 (and a few from 10/18) shipped today! The next batch will go out by next weekend.
at

21 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 26, 2007 at 3:59 PM

    So sad & yet beautiful..the rain really helps create the mood!

    really nice!

    j

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousOctober 26, 2007 at 4:01 PM

    I grew up in Virginia in the 70s and 80s, too! (Falls Church area...how about yourself?) If I ever saw the movie of The Red Balloon, I don't remember it now, but do have very vivid memories of the large picture book. Which I imagine had pictures from the movie.

    ReplyDelete
  3. TimOctober 26, 2007 at 4:16 PM

    I'm a product of the Fairfax County school district. We watched the Red Balloon in French class.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousOctober 26, 2007 at 4:28 PM

    I remember the Red Balloon too! I just thought of it again a few weeks ago after many many years. You can watch it in four parts on YouTube now (not the best quality). We had to watch it in elementary school in Delaware - I remember being kind of bored by it then, but now I appreciate it much!

    ReplyDelete
  5. MartiOctober 26, 2007 at 7:04 PM

    I live in Canada, and yes, we had to watch The Red Balloon too. It's one of those memory burn kind of things for me. I can still hear that kid yelling after the balloon!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Monster-ManiacOctober 26, 2007 at 10:19 PM

    WOW AWESOME! The rain is perfect. Leaves and gravle... just gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  7. b13October 27, 2007 at 1:09 AM

    I know the song "99 luft balloons" by Nena.

    ReplyDelete
  8. idiot_legsOctober 27, 2007 at 1:57 AM

    I love Le Balon Rouge! I talk about it often, but none of my friends remember it...
    My grandparents had it on video or something.

    I love this submission!

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousOctober 27, 2007 at 2:21 AM

    After just one second of watching this video on youtube I realize that I too... watched The Red Balloon in class. I must have watched it in... '98 or '97 and I'm from California.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousOctober 27, 2007 at 5:58 AM

    I'm a bad bad boy.
    Being a french camera who grew up in Paris, I am very ashamed (very much) to tell you all that I 've never heard about this movie.
    I probably should have keep that to myself but I couldn't.

    Sorry.

    Nice yellow balloon though ;)

    J.

    ReplyDelete
  11. krisOctober 27, 2007 at 7:15 AM

    I grew up in Boston in the late 70's/early 80's and saw this in school many times. I bought it on video for my brother when he had his first child.

    ReplyDelete
  12. batgrrlnycOctober 27, 2007 at 12:42 PM

    Yup, third grade, Fairfax County, VA. I think we had to watch it more than once.
    Am I the only one who sees another skull, reflected in the puddle beyond the Dead Balloon?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Gillian McMurrayOctober 27, 2007 at 3:40 PM

    This skull is so sad! Sniff! Someone mentioned The Red Balloon to me just this week. I have never seen it. Guess I'll have to try and find a copy. My PC can't deal with YouTube videos

    ReplyDelete
  14. mimOctober 27, 2007 at 7:05 PM

    Oh yes, so much a reminder of the Red Balloon. I rewatched that movie recently and thought, "that kid must be really old now!" The film is so timeless. Good job on this skull, an excellent job of getting the mood.

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousOctober 27, 2007 at 8:18 PM

    he looks as if he just shed his mortal coil. beautiful composition.

    asr (alien skull robots)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Crafty MamaOctober 28, 2007 at 2:32 AM

    I have watched it too, but not at school. That red balloon is an image not easily forgotten.

    ReplyDelete
  17. AnonymousOctober 29, 2007 at 2:58 PM

    You rock Noah - I received my Quoth the Raven T-'s today.

    I love it, specially. My Vespa's name is Lenore, license plate E.A. POE.. so it is easy to tell which image I had voted for to become a shirt.

    Birgitta

    ReplyDelete
  18. KaitlenOctober 29, 2007 at 8:02 PM

    A) Gorgeous pic and skull.
    B) I wish we'd watched The Red Balloon in school! I loved the book, which my mom and grandmother read to me when I was little (in the early '80s in Cambridge, MA).

    ReplyDelete
  19. Joy MadisonNovember 5, 2007 at 5:49 PM

    I grew up in Prince George's County Public Schools, and we watched it in 6th grade....it had a profound affect on me...since I still remember it. I don't remember much about 6th grade.

    ReplyDelete
  20. AnonymousNovember 15, 2007 at 5:33 PM

    they watched it at my daughters school all the time, and that was the end of 1990s and beginnings of this millenium, so the tradition stays strong

    ReplyDelete
  21. Social Justice Social WorkerNovember 19, 2008 at 11:25 AM

    I don't know if it's connected, but I grew up in Northern VA in the 1980s, and I also watched "The Red Balloon" a zillion times as a kid!

    ReplyDelete