Trumpets and Paintbrushes
jazz American music developed from ragtime and blues, characterized by varying degrees of improvisation
abstract expressionism an artistic movement of the mid-20th Century comprising diverse styles and techniques and emphasizing esp. an artist's liberty to convey attitudes and emotions through non-traditional and usu. non-representational means
Trumpets are conduits for music; paintbrushes, in the hands of artists, bring visual art to us. How we hear jazz and how we see abstract art are more complicated than just listening in a desultory manner, or glancing at a painting and moving to the next one.
In jazz we hear a main theme which quickly becomes entwined among various instruments, is submerged, disappears, and surfaces as another variation: improvisation, ever changing and charged with energy. Recorded jazz is almost as good as a live session, but not quite. The way to hear true jazz is to experience in concert its dynamic qualities which cannot be captured by electronic means.
Abstract art does not have to be "about something". Its colors, shapes, forms and designs, reflect what the artist wishes to bring to our attention. At times the purpose is obvious, other times, not. In either case it can usually be revealed by taking time to consider the work. Photographs of paintings, however good the quality of print, lack the impact made by a visit to an exhibition in a museum or an art gallery.
Jazz and abstract expressionism have much in common. Once heard and viewed in person, recordings and photographs can be reminders of performances and exhibits that brought great rewards.
Have you heard jazz performed by a local group? Have you visited an art exhibit featuring local artists? Would you be willing to attend a jazz concert? Would you travel to an art museum to see an exhibition by contemporary painters?
Carl Sandburg wrote
Wassily Kandinsky said
abstract expressionism an artistic movement of the mid-20th Century comprising diverse styles and techniques and emphasizing esp. an artist's liberty to convey attitudes and emotions through non-traditional and usu. non-representational means
Trumpets are conduits for music; paintbrushes, in the hands of artists, bring visual art to us. How we hear jazz and how we see abstract art are more complicated than just listening in a desultory manner, or glancing at a painting and moving to the next one.
In jazz we hear a main theme which quickly becomes entwined among various instruments, is submerged, disappears, and surfaces as another variation: improvisation, ever changing and charged with energy. Recorded jazz is almost as good as a live session, but not quite. The way to hear true jazz is to experience in concert its dynamic qualities which cannot be captured by electronic means.
Abstract art does not have to be "about something". Its colors, shapes, forms and designs, reflect what the artist wishes to bring to our attention. At times the purpose is obvious, other times, not. In either case it can usually be revealed by taking time to consider the work. Photographs of paintings, however good the quality of print, lack the impact made by a visit to an exhibition in a museum or an art gallery.
Jazz and abstract expressionism have much in common. Once heard and viewed in person, recordings and photographs can be reminders of performances and exhibits that brought great rewards.
Have you heard jazz performed by a local group? Have you visited an art exhibit featuring local artists? Would you be willing to attend a jazz concert? Would you travel to an art museum to see an exhibition by contemporary painters?
Carl Sandburg wrote
Drum on your drums, batter on your
banjos, sob on the long cool
saxophones.
Go to it, O jazzmen
Wassily Kandinsky said
The content of painting is painting. Nothing has to be deciphered. The content, filled with happiness, speaks to that person to whom each form is alive, i.e., has content.
posted by marguerite louise at
11:24 PM
4 Comments:
I was stunned when my Mother took me to the Art Institute of Chicago and I saw real famous paintings for the first time.
By
Anonymous, at 9/26/2005 7:06 PM
I had a BIG CRUSH on the boy next door who, when he returned from the Korean War, hung abstract prints all over the walls of his attic room and listened to Dave Brubeck round the clock. A big fan of photo realism and measured Bach concertos, I was horrified. How would we ever manage to live together in harmony?!
My mother explained that his new interests reflected the turmoil he felt after his war experiences and besides, I was only eight years old and too young to marry anyway. ;)
Fifty years later, my taste in art and music have expanded somewhat, but I still like the orderly and easily-apprehendable---especially if it's hanging on my walls or playing on the stereo. For cosmic balance, my elder son is a jazz musician and graphic artist who favors abstract pieces. So much for the "nurture" theory, eh?
By
Anonymous, at 9/27/2005 3:12 PM
I'm not much of a jazz fan, but I do like to see contemporary art, even though I don't always understand it.
By
Anonymous, at 9/30/2005 3:50 PM
I'm married to a jazz musician...he earns his living in the IT field but loves, loves, loves jazz. My youngest daughter is following in his footsteps. She too plays saxophone(both soprano and alto) and loves jazz. I enjoy the music but am much more eclectic in my taste in music and art.
By
Anonymous, at 10/03/2005 2:00 PM
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