Paper Mache
Tom Galvin is a local musician, songwriter, novelist, poet, and humorist who, along with his musician wife, Gay, has helped reinvent the arts and culture scene in Yuba-sutter. Tom is currently YSAC’S Musician-in-residence and serves on its Board of Directors.
I have had the privilege these past two years of co-hosting a program with Tom and Joe Moye called “All About the
Arts” which began as a weekly radio show. We pivoted when COVID changed all our lives to a virtual platform. What has not changed is the show’s weekly feature called “Weird
Art News” wherein Tom scours the universe for remarkable and often funny stories about artists, their crazy beliefs, behaviors, attitudes, and business ventures. Tom stitches the information together around central themes and then encapsulates the stories in a song which he performs live on each show. Past editions include “Toxins Run Riot in Hollywood,” “Gruesome Grief,” “First the Award, Then the Hook,” and “Critics Who Dissed Masterpieces.”
For the latter Tom wrote, “We think of great artists whose works have been acclaimed as masterpieces over time. Who can find fault with the paintings that have not only stood the test of time but also fly off the shelves at Sotheby’s for six figures a brushstroke? Some revered artists received cold reviews in their day. Claude Monet’s genius was slammed by art critic Louis Leroy. He mocked Impressionism in a sarcastic review and inadvertently gave the movement its name when he called Monet’s Sunrise an “impression.” He wrote that his impression was that a preliminary drawing for a wallpaper pattern is more finished than Monet’s seascape. Ouch! The summary song about other similarly misguided critics is hilarious.
Weird Art News is one of Yuba-sutter’s best kept secrets. Look at our Youtube Channel for past episodes of All About the Arts and you will see what I mean. Tom’s segment is at the top of the show, so you won’t have to dig too deep to find it. Go to yubasutterarts.org for more details.
(Paper Mache is a weekly column about the arts community by David Read, director of Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture.)