I started Play that Song on May 17th. The artwork was finished in early July. The artwork project was completed with the adding of the music and the signing and dating on August 25th. This is the only artwork project that was completed in 2021. The only other artwork I have finished was After the Gold Rush, at the end of February in Minnesota. Although I completed the music for this artwork, I never built the framed or created the sound system. All that never happened because we were getting ready to leave. On March 1st we returned home back to Wisconsin.

Here is my YouTube video discussing this artwork. The music still sounds “catchy” to this day. That convinces me that after all these months spent on this project the choice of music holds well.

To add to the video review of Play that Song, here are some of the technical improvements that were made. My aluminum frame for this artwork now using one inch angle instead of three-quarter used previously. That makes for a stronger, stiffer frame for the artwork. Moving the speakers out from behind the artwork to in front allows the artwork to sit closer to the wall. The pastel colors I chose for the canvas framed speakers and the controller box, I have used before in early artworks. The pastels were used on small pieces of the artwork. I never had the concern if the pastel colors actually work with the overall color scheme of the artwork. Being an old school photographer, I was always looking for interesting contrasts, so that is where the pastels come in. Besides, the music having its own color scheme and its outside placement on this work allows displays its independence from the artwork.

The challenge remains: how do I, or don’t I, connect the art, the music, and the artist. That mystery still lies deep, only partially uncovered. The last improvement is the first time use of magnets instead of glue to connect the wooden music pieces to the canvas frame. Although the magnets can cause damage to the top coat of paint, their easy removal releases the wood pieces, which better protects the canvas when being moved. The idea of gluing rigid wood pieces to a foldable piece of canvas, and then trying to handle that canvas without having the wood tear loose, is absurd. Especially when I am still using an experimental layering of top paint that needs to be easily scraped off, and takes time to harden.

On September 2nd we will take this artwork to be exhibited in the important fall art exhibition at the Pablo Annual. In 2019, to my surprise, The Blue Danube took third place. Surprisingly not, nothing came from that moment in the light event. Now, two years later and the payment of a twenty-dollar exhibition fee, we will give it another try. I hate pay-to-display events, but I want to convince the Pablo that it is time to schedule this art for a one person show. That means I need to keep myself in their face while working to convince them that my combination of art and music fits well with the Pablo’s overall approach to the arts. I am going to make this happen, knowing that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. What grease and this art have in common I am not aware of, but that metaphor pops up from memory like “Once there was this little old ant who thought he could move a rubber tree plant.” From the time I first heard this song to today I have considered myself to be one of those stubborn son-of-a-bitch ants. So it is. So it goes. So goes I.

Scott Von Holzen