09/30/2022
My current series, “Vertigo”, inspired by the rhythmic flow of music, was the exploration of the connection between visual and audio art forms. Every piece is designed to hold the viewers gaze and guide the eye around the canvas in a similar flow that is heard in music. The combination of melody and lyrics lead to a blend of abstraction and figuration in the subject matter. There were no preconceived expectations of how the pieces would turn out. I did not intentionally plan any part of any of the pieces but rather allowed the music to guide my creative choices in color, composition, brush manipulation, and brush size. This allowed each piece to be somewhat performative and majorly done in one sitting or two.
I began to notice my reactions to the sounds of guitar and other string instruments tended to lead to longer brushstrokes often spanning the length of the canvas whereas my responses to heavy bass and technological manipulation of sound led to shorter more frequent brush strokes. I chose to explore a variety of genres and artists from 70s psychedelic rock to 2022 RnB.
Half of this series, where the name “Vertigo” derived, are meant to be viewed in a turning motion, therefore their is no “correct”orientation. All four of the previously mentioned pieces were reactions to 70s rock music. Referencing artists such as Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendricks, Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac and more, I was able to capture visually what their music conveyed to me audibly.
The other half were responses to more modern genres of music. Involving more female artists, I expected a more dramatic difference in composition. However, this was not the case. I realized as I studied these songs, that the female artists are not merely feeding into the male gaze but that they are reclaiming their sexuality and enchantress spirit.
As seen in some of my earlier posts of individual pieces. “Passion”, “Somebody to Love” and “Reign” all dramatically change in the presence of colored LEDs and are most powerful when viewed accompanied by the music used to inspire them.
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Dimensions of originals:
“Passion”: 30”x30”
“Somebody to Love”: 24”x36”
“Reign”: 60”x48”
