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R. Douglass Rice
Mexico City Blues
Mexico City Blues, 242 Choruses is a series of 242 separate canvasses inspired by Jack Kerouac's book of poetry of the same name.
The cover of the book consists of a black symbol of calligraphy on a white background. Borrowing these two elements and adding a blue circle symbolizing jazz and a red circle symbolizing Beat poetry, I painted the same painting on each of the 242 canvasses.
Kerouac wrote this piece inspired by Charlie Parker's Bebop jazz. Just as a jazz musician will take a melody line and break it apart and vary the placement, tone and texture, I do the same with each painting, wherein each is the same but each is different at the same time.
Put altogether the 11' x 22' assembled piece reads like a jazz piece.