Copycat! Copycat! Copychianti! by Fay Picardi

 While visiting the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida several months ago, I was drawn to a very simple abstract collage by Robert Motherwell entitled Focknik, No. 2. The name itself is interesting enough. Focknik, despite its strange and evocative sound, is actually an eating establishment in Amsterdam, Holland. Until 1970, it was a manufacturer of fine liquors. Motherwell’s collage was created in 1958.

           Upon studying the work, I decided I handle the rigors of an homage. The following is my attempt to honor Mr. Motherwell’s work, or at least to duplicate it in some manner. I have taken the liberty of substituting the label from one of my favorite chianti’s, hence the title, After Motherwell’s Focknik No. 2, Picardi’s Damasco No 1. I am open to suggestions for a shorter, if not more apt title.