Artist:
I wouldn't call him one
Date: Not bloody likely, looking like that.
Similar
to today, games were quite popular in the early 1900's. Now, an untrained
eye may look here and say "That's a beggar! What does he have to do with
fun and games?"
And to those people, I would shout: "You've got a stupid pair of eyes!
Now go away and train them!'
If you can manage to put aside the stupidity of your eyes for a moment,
you will note that this painting is actually a commentary on the popular
gaming craze of those times, which was in many ways similar to today's
"Guitar Hero". In those times, it was known simply as 'a guitar'. People
spend hours upon hours transfixed by this time-wasting entertainment box,
sitting indoors and attempting unconvincingly to pull off various tunes.
They slowly become unable to deal with direct sunlight, while both their
bodies and their social skills waste away to nothing but hollow dried
up husks of diseased excrement. And things were no better back in the
old days, either.
This sort of dedication often ended in scenes like the one depicted above.
People would completely lose touch with reality, thinking that others
might actually be interested in their 'abilities' to operate this infernal
machine. Having lost everything to their addiction, they would sit at
the side of the road, 'guitar' in hand, and ask passers by to help sponsor
their latest project. However, since these 'guitarists' considered themselves
artists and not beggars, any money given to them was not counted as a
charitable donation by the local tax authorities. This resulted in little
to no income for these 'blue men,' so called because of their wasted bodies
and poor circulation.
Anyway, very soon the success of 'guitar' began to flag behind in popularity
to the latest sensation 'Cup AND Ball'. Not wanting to be outdone, the
corporation behind 'guitar' released other versions in an attempt to recapture
their audience. However 'ukulele', 'tuba' and 'penny whistle' not only
met a very cold reception in the stores, but there were public floggings
of any people who did partake of them. This further worsened the company's
chances of a revival, while sales of their rival's game, 'Flogging Hero,'
went through the roof.
This 'guitar' fad still has traces in modern society, and can be found
in the unlikely, and despicable, forms such as 'Ratt', 'The Smothers Brothers'
and 'Yngwie Malmsteen'. I'm sure you could find some note about them in
wiki somewhere. If you looked really hard…
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