New York in the 1930s: New York Boogie-Woogie

"New York Boogie-Woogie" (acrylic on canvas) 38" x 32"

Boogie-woogie originated as an African American style of piano-based blues as early as the 1870s. It is characterized by a regular bass figure in the left hand and is transposed according to chord changes.

Over time, the style was extended from piano to three pianos at once, guitar, big band, country and even gospel.

In 1938 and 1939, concerts produced by John Hammond in Carnegie Hall brought Boogie-woogie into the limelight. Concerts featured Big Joe Turner and Pete Johnson and included "Roll 'Em Pete," which is now considered an early "rock and roll" song.

After the Carnegie Hall concerts, swing bands began incorporating the boogie-woogie beat into their music. Tommy Dorsey's band even had a hit in 1938 with an updated version of "Pine Top's Boogie Woogie."

Boogie-woogie came to the forefront in the visual arts with Piet Mondrian's unfinished painting, "Victory Boogie Woogies" which has been in the collection of the Germeentemuseum in The Hague since 1998, having been purchased from a private collector for 35 million euros.

George Rothacker's painting "New York Boogie Woogie" is in tribute to both Mondrian and the musicians who created an art form that got America "swingin'."

About New York in the 1930s

For my newest artistic venture I have selected a decade - the 1930s - and a place - New York City - to focus on the ironies and randomness of mankind and its missions. As is true of most decades, the '30s didn’t begin on the stroke of midnight after the last day of 1929. It was been born of the events of the previous decades, but most especially by the world wide stock market crash of October 29, 1929 when fortunes were obliterated overnight, unemployment rose more than 60% and our nation's industrial production fell to nearly 50% of what it had been during the 1920s. My project is not intended to incorporate every event and issue of those times. It is an artistic montage that hopefully will capture in paintings the humor, beauty and pathos of the era and tell a story to those who did not live through that most fascinating era.

For complete information and videos on "New York in the 1930s," visit:

www.newyork1930s.com

About the Videos

The stories that accompany the artwork are an integral part of the paintings produced. Therefore, I have created videos to provide some of the history surrounding the artwork, as well as the music and the atmosphere of the time.

Currently, all but my latest work, "New York Boogie-Woogie" are matched with documentaries explaining the circumstances surrounding the paintings.

Many of the artworks and videos are not yet on this "blog." They can, however, be viewed by clicking the link below:

newyork1930s.com