Tuba on Fire
Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2016 8:18 am
Hi Everyone,
A friend of mine (not a tuba player) sent me this picture by Rene Magritte called "The Discovery of Fire." I had never seen it so I looked it up. Magritte compared this to the caveman's first discovery of fire. He said in a 1938 lecture, "The Ladder of Fire" (which is the first painting containing a burning tuba) afforded me the privilege of being acquainted with the feeling experienced by the first men who produced a flame by rubbing together two pieces of stone." He follows this up with his 1936 "The Discovery of Fire." The discovery is more apparent here; the paper can burn, the chair can burn, but the tuba cannot burn- making the burning tuba an impossible object. Perhaps this should have been named the Tuba Player's Nightmare or the Tuba Teacher's Hope. Certainly a mysterious and startling image. The fire is shown here with great effect against the dark background. What Magritte is trying to do is make you think what the real nature of fire is- normally a tuba cannot catch on fire and burn. By associating fire with an object that cannot burn, he tries to reveal the true nature of fire. I wonder why he chose a tuba? Interesting nonetheless.
Sy Brandon
A friend of mine (not a tuba player) sent me this picture by Rene Magritte called "The Discovery of Fire." I had never seen it so I looked it up. Magritte compared this to the caveman's first discovery of fire. He said in a 1938 lecture, "The Ladder of Fire" (which is the first painting containing a burning tuba) afforded me the privilege of being acquainted with the feeling experienced by the first men who produced a flame by rubbing together two pieces of stone." He follows this up with his 1936 "The Discovery of Fire." The discovery is more apparent here; the paper can burn, the chair can burn, but the tuba cannot burn- making the burning tuba an impossible object. Perhaps this should have been named the Tuba Player's Nightmare or the Tuba Teacher's Hope. Certainly a mysterious and startling image. The fire is shown here with great effect against the dark background. What Magritte is trying to do is make you think what the real nature of fire is- normally a tuba cannot catch on fire and burn. By associating fire with an object that cannot burn, he tries to reveal the true nature of fire. I wonder why he chose a tuba? Interesting nonetheless.
Sy Brandon
