Joni Mitchell Releasing New Book of Political Paintings

Newly minted U.S. citizen Joni Mitchell is exercising her First Amendment right to speak up on politics, and she’s doing it through her paintings. NEWS is a collection of 23 paintings by the singer-songwriter in book form set to be released November 3rd. A description of the collection calls it Mitchell’s “impassioned response to the world as she sees it today.” She tackles the 24-hour news cycle and skewers power, politics and global turbulence with paintings that feature slogans and song lyrics. You can pre-order the book here. A limited number of signed editions are also being sold through Mitchell’s website and her publisher’s website. On the back cover, Mitchell says, “Recently I retired from music in order to pursue my first love, painting. When Bush was president and the Twin Towers in New York were attacked, I did a series of political paintings. In the current climate, I felt a need to express my concern. It is an artist’s duty to speak up.” Mitchell further explained, “Picasso created ‘Guernica’ to protest the Spanish Civil War. Charlie Chaplin’s film The Great Dictator ridiculed Hitler. Mel Brooks’ comedy The Producers also took a poke at that mad man with Springtime for...