Crisscrossing the Arts
Dear Reader,
Sometimes artists and writers cannot help but be inspired by
other works of art – music, dance, visual art, poetry,
books. The mind goes where it needs to go while immersed in
the fog of creativity. Rather than suppress our wanderings into
another territory, we follow and see where it leads.
Consider three painters’ work: Franz Kline’s (1910-1962)
painting “Merce C,” his tribute to dancer-choreographer
Merce Cunningham (1919-2009); Marc Chagall’s (1887-1985)
costumes and sets for the New York City Ballet’s production
of Stravinsky’s “Firebird”; Roberto Matta’s
(1911-2002) series of Cervantes-inspired pastels “Don Qui.”
This line of thought made me open my 1998-2020 electronic folders
and see dozens of pieces inspired by composers Mahler, Stravinsky,
Prokofiev and Copland, writers Shakespeare, Kunitz and Poe,
and painters Hockney, van Gogh, Chihuly and Chagall. Here are
a few examples:
In 1998, “Passing Through,” a poem by Stanley Kunitz,
inspired this collage. In 2009, my life would be changed by
this man’s work and family history.
 |
In 2013, I was in my studio listening to Gustav Mahler’s
“Symphony No. 5” and realized that the painting I
was making somehow reflected the music. I ended up buying CDs
of the other 9 symphonies and spent months painting the series.
The recurring image of trees came as an early surprise, so I
put in the same number of trees as the symphony that inspired
it. Later, I learned that Mahler always placed his composing
studio in the woods. This is “Mahler’s Symphony No.
2.”
A few weeks ago, I was recycling an older painting by collaging
art tissue over it and was struck by the layers of blue that
mimicked the colors of night and moonlight. I remembered that
Edgar Allan Poe’s poetry was the subject of an illustrated
book report I did in 9th grade, and my mind’s eye could
see nothing else until I finished the piece.
Here is a suggestion: next time you are at a concert, in a museum
or reading a book, investigate instances of cross pollination
among artists.
