Music to my Eyes
A Quick Introduction
Throughout my recent experience exhibiting my work and making attempts to socialize and build community I’ve found there are actually quite a few local artists and galleries within an hour’s drive from me. There is a whole lot more going on here than I could find from the comfort of my sofa and social media browsing. Discovering this, I’ve concluded I can no longer live my hermetic life and I shall bring you on my journey to finding where the art is and who makes it.
During my recent mini-solo show (see previous post), a lot of friends went to see my work (yay!) and had a lot of fun wearing their blue coats to go see mine or sharing their stories with me about objects they are emotionally attached to. Not only that but many friends who went to the opening reception had never been to an art gallery before! They always assumed that if they weren't going to buy anything they shouldn't go into one. They were worried the person working there might try to sell them something or be confrontational. Lastly they also assumed the art was too expensive for them. I have had these feelings too.
Fueled by a desire for connection and community I am starting a series of videos and blog posts to share the local greater DC art scene with you! I will share studio visits with other artists, review and visit local exhibitions, and talk about how to look at art and enjoy a visit to a museum. Art and art history don't have to be this other world. Truly it boils down to someone trying to make a connection with other people and explore some idea or process. It's incredible to think about this over time and place! Thinking about it drives my whole life.
Music to My Eyes
So our first gallery exhibition tour is a show that is only open a few more days, through February 25 which is Sunday. Music to My Eyes is a group show at Falls Church Art. This is a great gallery to go visit because it is free, open daily, and the exhibitions change monthly. There are restaurants and coffee shops nearby as well, so take a lunch break and go check it out.
It’s also a non-profit gallery which means their main focus is arts education. They have classes, an art critique group, and monthly Calls for Art which means artists can submit their work for the monthly juried shows. The person working when you walk in is a volunteer and probably an artist who would love to talk shop with you. There is no pressure to buy something, although all of the art is for sale.
Music to My Eyes was a prompt for artists to submit visual work inspired by music. When you walk in the door the first thing that strikes you is the bright colors and variety of media. Artists explored questions like: How do you make sound visual? How can you express the personal feelings or cultural significance of music? My biggest take-away was that I could see the investigation of materials and ideas in each work. They feel meditative and responsive. A few themes developed.
James Hengst photographs places where music is shared. William Rollins and Joan Slottow explored how to visually document sound itself.
While many artists created works of people making music like in Eric Stewart’s linoleum prints of composers and musicians and Bob Biedrycki’s Trombones. Nicole Tobin, Carrie Spence, and Yemonja Smalls produced colorful and energetic works of women making music, including details that take their work into the political. Questioning, how do we experience music as a culture? And how can we use music to elicit change?
Some artists explored how we respond to music through dance and movement like in David Moss’s photographs or JoAnn LeBoy’s Jazz, which is made of clothing patterns and dance step instructions. Or the opposite, how we might feel uninspired like the distracted congregation made of terracotta in Church Concert by Morgan Carol.
Some artists focus on the instruments of music, pushing the idea into the conceptual. Beth Nogay Carenbauer does this in Just a Spoonful, a mobile of spoons. Claudia Blackburn carved a Bass Clef Quartet out of marble while Jonathan Ottke invented a new musical instrument from one guitar string.
Jenny Newberry used the guitar itself as a house for a meditation on Led Zeppelin. Kelsey Joyce uses records as canvas and Chelsea Tinklenburg‘s Heavy Metal considers the device we use to store music (here a cassette tape made of metal) to also carry weight of meaning.
Finally some artists tried to convey a sense of atmosphere and the feelings we feel when listening to music such as Julia Glatfelter’s Practicing Brahms with a restrained palette and breezy curtains (this one won the people’s choice).
Considering this great variety of compelling ideas, two stood out to me.
In Moon River, Renee Ruggles considers the saying itself “music to my ears” and presents a photograph of the moon and tree limbs reflected in water at night creating a melodic pattern. “Music to my Ears” is a saying we use to convey that even if something isn't necessarily music, or even pleasing to all, it is pleasing to ourselves. I often think of the noise of children playing. This photograph has a sense of place, you can hear the water and the night life of the animals who live nearby chirping, scavenging, and dipping into the water. Perhaps the wind has disrupted the water and whistles as it passes. When I first saw this photograph, it felt out of place having nothing to do with people making music. On further consideration, I felt it was most relevant as sometimes the rhythm of nature is what we need most.
Electra Bolotas’ Nunca Mais Voltou (Never Again Returned) depicts a blue figure embracing abstract shapes. The hands of the figure are repeated as if it has been here before or perhaps to show the movement of the embrace. It immediately conveyed a sense of longing and sadness. The figure is holding on to something that is not physical. As you look, eyes, mouths, and other features start to float throughout the painting. I was reminded of songs that I listened to over the years with exs or loved ones who have passed away. Nostalgic songs that you might not think of on a daily basis and they catch you off guard when you are in the midst of hearing them. Or songs you listen to on repeat to desperately hold on to your memories.
