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stephen sondheim - chromolume #7 / putting it together lyrics

[harriet]
i mean, i don’t understand completely

[billy]
i’m not surprised

[harriet]
but he combines all these different trends

[billy]
i’m not surprised

[harriet]
you can’t divide art today
into categories neatly

[billy]
oh

[harriet]
what matters is the means, not the ends

[billy]
i’m not surprised

[both]
that is the state of the art, my dear
that is the state of the art!

[greenburg]
it’s not enough knowing good from rotten

[redmond]
you’re telling me

[greenburg]
when something new pops up every day

[redmond]
you’re telling me

[greenburg]
it’s only new, though, for now-

[redmond]
nouveau

[greenburg]
but yesterday’s forgotten

[redmond]
and tomorrow is already p-ssé

[greenburg]
there’s no surprise

[both]
that is the state of the art, my friend
that is the state of the art!

[betty]
he’s an original

[alex]
was

[naomi]
i like the images

[alex]
some

[betty]
come on
you had your moment
now it’s george’s turn-

(overlapping)
[alex]
it’s george’s turn?

[betty]
don’t you think he’s original?

[naomi]
well, yes…

[alex]
i wasn’t talking turns
i’m talking art

[betty]
you’re talking cr-p

[alex]
but is it really new?

[naomi]
well, no…

[alex]
his own collaborator!

[betty]
it’s more than novelty

[naomi]
well, yes…

[alex]
it’s all promotion, but then-

[betty]
it’s just impersonal, but-

[alex & betty]
that is the state of the art
isn’t it?

[naomi]
well…

[billy]
art isn’t easy

[harriet]
even when you’ve am-ssed it

[betty]
fighting for prizes

[greenburg]
no one can be an oracle

[redmond]
art isn’t easy

[alex]
suddenly- (snap)
you’re past it

[naomi]
all compromises

[harriet]
and then when it’s allegorical!

[all]
art isn’t easy
any way you look at it!

[greenburg] (spoken)
here’s george now!

[george]
all right, george
as long as it’s your night, george
you know what’s in the room, george
another chromolume, george
it’s time to get to work!

[marie] (spoken)
george, look, all these lovely people in front of our painting

[greenburg] (spoken)
george! i’d like you to meet one of our board members. this is harriet pawling

[harriet] (spoken)
what a pleasure! and this is my friend, billy webster

[billy] (spoken)
how do you do

[greenburg] (spoken)
well, i’ll just leave you three to chat

[billy] (spoken)
harriet was so impressed by your presentation

[harriet] (spoken)
this is the third piece of yours i’ve seen. they are getting so large!

[billy] (spoken)
what heading does your work fall under?

[george] (spoken)
well, most people think of it as sculpture

[billy] (spoken)
sculpture!

[george] (spoken)
actually, i like to think of myself as an inventor as well as a sculptor

[billy] (spoken)
it’s so unconventional for sculpture

[george]
say cheese, george
and put them at their ease, george
you’re up on the trapeze, george
machines don’t grow on trees, george
start putting it together…

[harriet] (spoken)
i bet your great-grandfather would be very proud!

[marie] (spoken)
oh yes, he would have loved this evening

[billy] (spoken)
how do you know?

[marie] (spoken)
i just know. i’m like that

[harriet] (spoken)
hi, i’m harriet pawling

[billy] (spoken)
billy webster

[marie] (spoken)
how do you do. this is elaine, george’s former wife

[elaine] (spoken)
h-llo

[marie] (spoken)
elaine is such a darling. i will always think of her as my granddaughter. i’m so happy these children have remained close, though. isn’t that nice?

[billy] (spoken)
yes. you know, harriet has just gone through a rather messy divorce and the two-

[harriet] (spoken)
bill! what a fascinating family you have

[marie] (spoken)
many people say that. you know, we’re going to france next month to visit the island where the painting was painted and george is going to bring the lomochrome

[george] (spoken)
chromolume. i’ve been invited to do a presentation of the machine on the island

[marie] (spoken)
george has never been to france

[george]
art isn’t easy
even when you’re hot

[billy] (spoken)
are these inventions of yours one of a kind?

[george]
advancing art is easy-
(spoken) yes
financing it is not

[marie] (spoken)
they take a year to make!

[george]
a vision’s just a vision
if it’s only in your head

[marie] (spoken)
the minute he finishes one, he starts raising money for the next

[george]
if no one gets to see it
it’s as good as dead

[marie} (spoken)
work, work, work

[george]
if has to come to light!
(spoken) i put the names of my contributors on the side of each machine

[elaine] (spoken)
some very impressive people!

[harriet] (spoken)
well, we must speak further. my family has a foundation and we are always looking for new projects

[george]
bit by bit
putting it together

[marie] (spoken)
family, you know, it’s all you really have

[george]
piece by piece
only way to make a work of art
every moment makes a contribution
every little detail plays a part
having just a vision’s no solution
everything depends on execution
putting it together
that’s what counts!

[harriet] (spoken)
actually, the board of the foundation is meeting next week…

[george]
ounce by ounce
putting it together

[harriet] (spoken)
you’ll come to lunch

[george]
small amounts
adding up to make a work of art
first of all you need a good foundation
otherwise it’s risky from the start
takes a little c-cktail conversation
but without the proper preparation
having just a vision’s no solution
everything depends on execution

the art of making art
is putting it together
bit by bit…

[redmond] (spoken)
well, we’ve been hearing about you for quite some time. we haven’t met. charles redmond, county museum of texas

[george] (spoken)
how do you do

[redmond] (spoken)
it’s a pleasure to meet you, george. your work is just tremendous

[george] (spoken)
thank you

[redmond] (spoken)
i hate to bring up business during a social occasion, but i wanted you to know we’re in the process of giving out some very sizable commissions-

[greenburg] (spoken)
you’re not going to steal him away, are you?

[george]
link by link
making the connections
drink by drink
fixing and perfecting the design
adding just a dab of politician
always knowing where to draw the line
lining up the funds but in addition
lining up a prominent commission
otherwise your perfect composition
isn’t going to get much exhibition

art isn’t easy
every minor detail
is a major decision
have to keep things in scale
have to hold to your vision

every time i start to feel defensive
i remember lasers are expensive
what’s a little c-cktail conversation
if it’s going to get you your foundation
leading to a prominent commission
and an exhibition in addition

[all]
art isn’t easy

[alex & betty]
trying to make connections

[all]
who understands it?

[harriet & billy]
difficult to evaluate

[all]
art isn’t easy

[greenburg & redmond]
trying to form collections

[all]
always in transit

[naomi]
and then when you have to collaborate!

[all]
art isn’t easy
any way you look at it!

[marie] (spoken)
george, you have to meet mr. randolph

[randolph] (spoken)
h-llo. lee randolph, i’m in charge of public relations here at the museum

[george] (spoken)
how do you do

[naomi] (spoken)
there you are, george! hi, marie. naomi eisen

[randolph] (spoken)
delighted. you know, you two made quite a stir around here tonight!

[naomi] (spoken)
there, you see, george, that technical screw-up didn’t hurt our reception after all

[randolph] (spoken)
now, there’s a lot of opportunity for some great press here

[george]
dot by dot
building up the image
shot by shot
keeping at a distance doesn’t pay
still, if you remember your objective
not give all your privacy away
a little bit of hype can be effective
long as you can keep it in perspective
after all, without some recognition
no one’s going to give you a commission
which will cause a crack in your foundation
you’ll have wasted all of that conversation!

[dennis] (spoken)
i really am sorry, george. i spoke to naomi in great detail about how much electricity her synthesizer would use- i calculated the voltage exactly-

[george] (spoken)
dennis. it’s okay

[dennis] (spoken)
the laser was beautiful, george

[george] (spoken)
it was, wasn’t it? now, go get yourself a drink, dennis. mingle

[dennis] (spoken)
george, there’s one more thing i wanted to talk to you about. i was going to wait- no, i’ll wait

[george] (spoken)
what?

[dennis] (spoken)
i’m quitting

[george] (spoken)
quitting?

[dennis] (spoken)
i’m going back to nasa. there’s just too much pressure in this line of work

[george] (spoken)
dennis, don’t do anything rash. just take it easy, sleep on it, and we’ll talk about it tomorrow

[dennis] (spoken)
okay, george

[george]
art isn’t easy

[betty] (spoken)
hey, it’s the brains!

[george]
even if you’re smart

[alex] (spoken)
little technical screw-up tonight, dennis?

[george]
you think it’s all together
and something falls apart

[betty] (spoken)
i loved the new machine, george

[george] (spoken)
thanks. that means a lot to me

[alex] (spoken)
we saw you talking to redmond from texas

[george] (spoken)
yeah

[betty] (spoken)
did you get one of the commissions?

[george] (spoken)
we talked about it. you guys?

[alex] (spoken)
her. my stuff is a little too inaccessible

[george] (spoken)
i love your work, alex. i’ll put in a good word for you

[alex] (spoken)
he knows my work!

[george] (spoken)
it’s all politics, alex. maybe if you just lightened up once in a while…

[betty] (spoken)
texas would be fun!

[george]
art isn’t easy
overnight you’re a trend
you’re the right combination
then the trend’s at an end
you’re suddenly last year’s sensation
so you should support the compet-tion
try to set aside your own ambition
even when you jockey for position
if you feel a sense of coalition
then you never really stand alone
if you want your work to reach fruition
what you need’s a link with your tradition
and of course a prominent commission
plus a little formal recognition
so that you can go on exhibit-
so that your work can go on exhibition

[blair] (spoken)
there’s the man of the hour

[george] (spoken)
blair! h-llo. i read your piece on neo-expressionism-

[blair] (spoken)
just what the world needs, another piece on neo-expressionism

[george] (spoken)
well, i enjoyed it

[blair] (spoken)
good for you. now, i had no idea you might be related to nineteenth-century france

[george] (spoken)
it’s a cloudy ancestral line, at best

[blair] (spoken)
well, i’m dying to meet your grandmother. it was fun seeing the two of you on stage with your invention. it added a certain humanity to the proceedings

[george] (spoken)
humanity?

[blair] (spoken)
george. chromolume number 7?

[george]
be nice, george

[blair] (spoken)
i was hoping it would be a series of three- four at the most

[george]
you have to pay a price, george

[blair] (spoken)
we have been there before, you know

[george] (spoken)
you never suffer from a shortage of opinions, do you, blair?

[blair] (spoken)
you never minded my opinions when they were in your favor!

(overlapping)
[george]
they like to give advice, george
don’t think about it twice, george
(spoken) i disagree

[blair] (spoken)
i have touted your work from the beginning, you know that. you were really on to something with these light machines- once. now they’re just becoming more and more about less and less

[blair] (spoken)
now don’t get me wrong. you’re a talented guy, if you weren’t i wouldn’t waste our time with my opinions. but i think you are capable of far more. not that you couldn’t succeed by doing chromolume after chromolume – but there are new discoveries to be made, george

[george]
be new, george
they tell you till they’re blue, george
you’re new or else you’re through, george
and even if it’s true, george
you do what you can do

bit by bit
putting it together
piece by piece
working out the vision night and day
all it takes is time and perseverance
with a little luck along the way
putting in a personal appearance
gathering supporters and adherents

[harriet]
but he combines all these different trends

[george]
mapping out the right configuration
starting with a suitable foundation

[betty]
he’s an original

[alex]
was

[george]
lining up a prominent commission
and an exhibition in addition
here a little dab of politician

(overlapping)
[george]
there a little touch of publication
till you have a balanced composition
everything depends on preparation
even if you do have the suspicion
that it’s taking all your concentration

[betty]
i like those images

[alex]
some

[betty]
they’re just his personal response

[alex]
to what?

[betty]
the painting!

[alex]
bullsh-t. anyway, the painting’s overrated-

[betty]
overrated? it’s a masterpiece!

[alex]
a masterpiece? historically important, maybe-

[betty]
oh, now you’re judging seurat, are you?

[alex]
all it is is pleasant, just like george’s work

[betty]
it’s just your jealousy of george’s work

[alex]
no nuance, no resonance, no relevance-

[betty]
there’s nuance, and there’s resonance, there’s relevance-

[alex & betty]
there’s not much point in arguing
besides,/you say it’s all promotion, but then-

[greenburg]
it’s only new, though. for now

[redmond]
nouveau

[greenburg & redmond]
and yesterday’s forgotten
today it’s all a matter of promotion
but then-

[harriet]
you can’t divide art today

[billy]
i’m not surprised

[harriet]
go with it

[harriet & billy]
what will they think of next?

[others]
most art today
is a matter of promotion, but then-

[all but george]
that is the state of the art
and art isn’t easy…

[george]
the art of making art
is putting it together
bit by bit-
link by link-
drink by drink-
mink by mink-

[all]
and that
is the state
of the
art!

- stephen sondheim lyrics

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