Music Mosaic












Artist’s Statement

            I often wonder if art really means anything at all. Sometimes, as in the Dada movement, it doesn’t. Sometimes it does; see anything by Leonardo Da Vinci or Jordan Peele. But, more often then not, I think art walks a fine line between nothing and something. I found this to be especially true as I worked through this project. Inspired by Mozart’s Serenade No. 13 in G Major, these painting are simple and abstract. I intentionally chose a classical song that would be familiar to most, because I was curious about what the song would mean to me if I tried to make some meaning out of it, instead of casually listening. I had some feint memories associated with the song that I consciously subverted. I encourage viewers of the art do to the same.
As I heard the string instruments play each bubbly note, I noticed that the song was upbeat, but felt perfectly in order. Not a note is out of place, yet there’s no sense of boredom or chaos. I found myself inside of a factory. The factory in not making anything in particular, but it is making something on time, and it is enjoying doing it, if a factory could do such a thing. The factory owes everything, including its anthropomorphic happiness to simple machines.
It is simple machines (lever, pulley, screw, wedge, inclined plane, wheel) that you will see reflected in the paintings, as they represent the serenade to the best of my ability. The abstract nature of the paintings is intentional, and an attempt to capture the mood of Mozart’s song.
 The brushstrokes are uncomplex, only moving to the right or the left. This is perhaps the only part of the art that contrasts the music. The work of the musicians is complicated and requires skill. My work does not. This contrast replicates the millions of people who have heard the serenade and the relationship they have with the genius who invented the melody. The colors are simple, and mostly cool, except in the cases of machines I felt were interestingly violent. 
The last two paintings are not simple machines at all, but represent instead the force Isaac Newton called “work”, which all simple machines require to function. The last piece is indicative of a Rube Goldberg machine, a personal fascination of mine. A Rube Goldberg often has a simple, though meaningless task, and takes lots of time and effort to create. The same philosophy can be applied to art in all forms.
As the artist, I would like viewers to understand that while the above analysis is true, it is also false. This art has meaning, but it also means nothing. Make of that what you will. 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4Hfv00eqoI

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