On every calendar in the world there are a handful of days that are special, unique, holy. And among those holy days there's always one...one day that is so extraordinary, so festive, stupendously soul rejuvenating that it turns all of the other days into jealous little bitches.
On my calendar, that day has arrived. For today we commemorate that seismic shift in the cosmos that occurred on April 24, 1942. The day the world begat one Barbara (with three a's) Joan Streisand, just a few short miles from where I sit as I write this.
I have celebrated the day since I was about 14. Long before everybody could find out whatever they wanted to know from the internet, I used to tare through the almanac in my high school library and memorize the birthdays of people I admired. I can still see the tiny little print as I poured through dozens of entries looking for the ones I wanted: Ann Bancroft, September 17; Jill Clayburh, April 30; Eileen Brennan, September 3, and of course Barbra (now with only two a's) Streisand, April 24.
I suppose it was an odd pastime, but it's not like Topps made a series called Character Actress Trading Cards. Oh sweet Jesus, can you imagine!
"I'll trade you a Sandy Dennis for that Thelma Ritter."
"No way! Can't you see this is a Thelma Ritter ROOKIE CARD! It's worth at least two Sandy Dennises and a Butterfly McQueen. At least."
But I digress...
I was very disappointed in the drawing I did to mark the occasion last year (it was a cute idea--Barbra wearing a Barbra t-shirt, but honestly I didn't put enough effort into it) so I wanted to try to do something special this year. I thought I'd try to capture Barbra in Yentl, which I'd never done before. But that didn't seem quite enough, so I tried to imagine her as Modigliani might have seen her. With his propensity for exaggerated features and elongated necks, Modigliani would have found a natural model in Streisand.
I'm not the first person to think of Barbra as a Modigliani. In the liner notes of her very first album in 1962, composer Harold Arlen (Over The Rainbow, Stormy Weather, Come Rain or Come Shine, and dozens of other classics) asked:
"...Have you ever heard our top vocalists 'belt,' 'whisper' or sing with that steady and urgent beat behind them?...Have you ever seen a painting by Modigliani?...If you have, do not think the above has been ballooned out of proportion. I advise you to watch Barbra Streisand's career. This young lady (a mere twenty) has a stunning future."
On my calendar, that day has arrived. For today we commemorate that seismic shift in the cosmos that occurred on April 24, 1942. The day the world begat one Barbara (with three a's) Joan Streisand, just a few short miles from where I sit as I write this.
I have celebrated the day since I was about 14. Long before everybody could find out whatever they wanted to know from the internet, I used to tare through the almanac in my high school library and memorize the birthdays of people I admired. I can still see the tiny little print as I poured through dozens of entries looking for the ones I wanted: Ann Bancroft, September 17; Jill Clayburh, April 30; Eileen Brennan, September 3, and of course Barbra (now with only two a's) Streisand, April 24.
I suppose it was an odd pastime, but it's not like Topps made a series called Character Actress Trading Cards. Oh sweet Jesus, can you imagine!
"I'll trade you a Sandy Dennis for that Thelma Ritter."
"No way! Can't you see this is a Thelma Ritter ROOKIE CARD! It's worth at least two Sandy Dennises and a Butterfly McQueen. At least."
But I digress...
I was very disappointed in the drawing I did to mark the occasion last year (it was a cute idea--Barbra wearing a Barbra t-shirt, but honestly I didn't put enough effort into it) so I wanted to try to do something special this year. I thought I'd try to capture Barbra in Yentl, which I'd never done before. But that didn't seem quite enough, so I tried to imagine her as Modigliani might have seen her. With his propensity for exaggerated features and elongated necks, Modigliani would have found a natural model in Streisand.
I'm not the first person to think of Barbra as a Modigliani. In the liner notes of her very first album in 1962, composer Harold Arlen (Over The Rainbow, Stormy Weather, Come Rain or Come Shine, and dozens of other classics) asked:
"...Have you ever heard our top vocalists 'belt,' 'whisper' or sing with that steady and urgent beat behind them?...Have you ever seen a painting by Modigliani?...If you have, do not think the above has been ballooned out of proportion. I advise you to watch Barbra Streisand's career. This young lady (a mere twenty) has a stunning future."
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