Music Mosaic

Here's the assignment description for the Music Mosaic (20 pts.):

Each student will create a series of 8 - 12 images that visually complement a piece of instrumental (w/o lyrics) music. Images may be drawn, painted, photographed or created digitally, but must be the creation of the student (not thieved from Google Images). Students are encouraged to consider both form (line, color, composition, etc.) and content (representation, narrative, etc.) in their creations.

Now, let's discuss some potential approaches to this introductory assignment. The dynamic between image and sound can be navigated in a number of ways. We're probably most familiar with the approach that starts with images (or more appropriately, moving images) and then composes music to accompany these images--film scores. Or on the other end of the spectrum, we're familiar with the approach that starts with music and then creates moving images to accompany the music--music videos. I find the approaches in-between most interesting.

For example, the following video started as a fan creation, and then became a collaboration between the composer and visual effects artist. And the composer attributes his relative success largely to the success of the video.

Or, you're probably familiar with the music/design/performance art project that is the Gorillaz. Here, an artist and some musicians have collaborated to simultaneously create these characters that navigate this cool transmedia narrative (oftentimes, in a cool, camouflage dune buggy). Here, neither image nor music has primacy--they're simultaneously produced and thoroughly interdependent.

One is more abstract; the other is more narrative- and character-driven. One attempts to visually represent tone, pitch, rhythm, instrumentation, etc.; the other is interested in using the combination of image and music to build a world. I invite you to do what you think most authentically expresses your reading of the music.

I know that that's kind of vague, and the examples we've used so far are moving (not static) images arranged in time (not space). So I'll attempt to be a little more concrete (as concrete as abstract expressionism can be, I suppose). I recently found a cool Swiss artist named Karina Wisniewska. Here are a few works of hers that I especially like.

Flowering Season, 2011

Field Lights, 2012

She also creates paintings inspired by, and often named for, her favorite pieces of classical music. For  example, here are two works inspired by a composition by Isang Yun.

Colloides Sonores I, 2010

Colloides Sonores II, 2010

And here's another piece inspired by a composition by Debussy.

 Cloches a Travers les Feuilles, 2010

Imagine if Karina was in 112, working on her own Music Mosaic. She might pick a piece from John Cage or Bach (both of whom she especially likes), and create a series of 8-12 images, translating her experience listening to the piece to a visual medium. Remember though, that you will need to justify your particular approach to this assignment in your artist's statement--whatever the medium, form, content, etc. of your mosaic, you'll need to be able to explain their significance.

So, refer to the description of the assignment in the syllabus, our discussions in class, the feedback you got during the workshop. Then get to work. Remember that your completed assignment will include a 300-500 word 'artist's statement' that contextualizes your mosaic within the week's topic--in this case, this delicate process of creative inspiration and execution.