Latest posts by michael wilson (see all)
- JORDAN RIVER - February 5, 2019
- Inspired Art - August 2, 2018
- Waiting for Inspiration - July 31, 2018
- The Bridge between Painting and Photography - July 31, 2018
Comparing music to abstract art is surprisingly straightforward. I have shown in the photo various brushes I use for painting. Whereas the musician uses an instrument such as a piano or clarinet or violin, the painter uses canvas, paint and brush. These are tools for expression.
Abstract art is probably more closely related to jazz, especially in the development of a piece. Jazz typically starts out with a fairly regular rythmn until the lead musician begins to experiment with improvisational riffs. Abstract art will often employ established formats such as correct balance in a painting, but after these basic tenents are thought through then an artist can freely develop the painting. In a good jazz piece there is an exciting sense of something being created fresh and new. This also happens in abstract work. One long, pure jazz note seems to beckon another spontaneously. Also in abstract painting, a certain color or shape will often beckon a different contrasting color or shape. Both in jazz and in abstract painting the artist must pay attention to an inner source. The development does not come from responses to exterior forms, but from (shall we say) sub-conscious responses.
Sharing this kind of psychology is one of the primary links between music and painting – especially abstract art. Kandinsky was a musician before he was a painter and was fascinated with how the two mediums would cross- pollinate each other. What makes music interesting is the various crescendos, then falls, then long riffs that make for a dramatic piece. Abstract painting, when it is successful needs to also contain these dramatic elements. Though a painting is essentially static, it can appear to the senses to be alive and moving, sensual and profound. This is accomplished by the intelligent use of color, contrast, shape and movement in a piece.
