Tag: ART

S_V_H Crazy first image

Published on by Scott Von Holzen2 Comments

Final preliminary design

In my first layout below the speaker canvases, similar to past works are extensions on the sides. The width of this setup was around 45 inches in width, and six feet in length. I wanted to work to have a wider look away from the long rectangles in past 2020 music boxes. This first preparation image turned out to be too wide for our Toyota RAV to carry without dismantling. That is what I must do with all my previous 2022 works. I did not want that to continue with Crazy.

For Crazy I choose to keep the music for this artwork simple, and in four parts, so that I could have a more vertical work. The final design that was a good-enough-to-get-going arrangement is pictured above. This artwork will fit in the car being less than 42 inches wide and around sixty-four inches in length.

First layout.

As for my choice of the music, I remember I liked what I heard watching a guy dressed strangely, like an airline pilot captain, singing Crazy at the 2007 Grammy’s. I was able to find that performance on YouTube:

His outfit gave me the idea to go with a black theme accented with gold.

Early audio for this music box

My first step always is to create a basic soundtrack. Form that sound track I then choose the music the artwork is to sample. This current audio is lacking a lot, including drums. All that will be improved later when the physical artwork is near completion, and I am starting to build its sound system.

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H Metamorphosis 2 Final Image

Published on by Scott Von Holzen
Metamorphoses 2 L122″xH31″xD7.5″ all dimensions can and will vary.

A would like to comment about the following video about Metamorphosis 2. This artwork is the last of three pieces dedicated to the architect Frank Gehry. I took the colors used on the canvases from a picture of The Neue Zollhof in Dusseldorf, Germany.
I made this video recovering from a terrible cold, not COVID. I never lost my sense of smell and taste and which I tested negative for. This video does not display my usual upbeat mood, and that comes not only from my cold but from my disappointment in the status of today’s Contemporary Art. To me, what I am seeing in today’s art is all crafty with a few words of deep thought and concerning in the artist’s statement to create the appearance of art and an artist that has deep principles and concerns. That seems to be all the rage in exhibitions and galleries, that and displaying master craftwork. It is all so blah blah, blah to me. I know craft can be desirable and valuable. Got that. It is just that I am not seeing any Art. I am not saying this artwork is Art. A lot of craft has gone into creating this physical music box. But unlike craft, I am not trying to create a pristine, finely polished, perfect technical skill object. What I am putting together may not be Art, but I don’t consider it as craft either. It is what I am. It is all that I am and will be. That is the only way I can put in the work and time needed for each of these music boxes.


Define what is and is not Art? OK, this is my revise version that I came up with after listening to dozens of different explanations of What is Art, at this Art Assignment YouTube Video and then realizing that I am not trying to define what is art, but in actuality I want to define what is not art. I quote five words from the Art Assignment video, for right now those words best represent what I am thinking. I am sure I will find my own substitutions in time.

Art vs Craft

All art is craft
Not all craft is art
the difference is
art was and always will be
“an open and ever evolving”
perception.
Craft is a product.

I started this project on April 9th and completed it on May 25th with the installation of the music. The cover music I put together starting on April 9th. That is the first step of these current projects. Unlike pervious covers, my working cover music for Metamorphosis 2 was the final version in need of tweaking only. In the past I would put together my cover music in the notation software Notion, using the piano, no matter if that was the main instrument or not. Once satisfied with the flow of the music, I would then create the artwork. Finishing the artwork, I would then return the cover music and to add other instruments and improve the sound quality in my DAW, StudioOne, before installing it. Because this artwork took almost seven weeks to complete, I was totally out of touch with the original cover music. Thankfully, I kept this project limited to one instrument, the piano, which simplified the entire cover music process, in Notion and StudioOne. Finally, on the 26th I added interest items which were all those narrow horizontal pieces attached to the notes, completing this project.

My biggest surprise with the cover music was how loud it could be, and the sound quality of the piano, which I thought was good and almost comparable to my computer’s Bose stereo system. I think I have reached a good level of speaker box development considering the limitations. Here is the final licensed cover music for Metamorphosis 2.

I no longer can think of or remember my feelings toward creating this cover music and this music box. It has taken so long to complete this project that all the emotions that have gone into creating this artwork have faded. I am happy to have finished it. I enjoy the music and like the look and the size of this artwork, which is more my style with little concern for market friendliness. The next artwork will start soon although I don’t have a clue what music I will paint next.

I am already evolving

Art vs Craft
(new version 2)

All art is craft
Not all craft is art.
the difference is
art was and always will be
an ever open revolving door
of perception.
Craft is a product

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H Metamorphosis 2 image 2

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

I have been working on and off on this artwork for almost a month. I have it figured out, but was interrupted by the warmth of Spring finally arriving, remodeling of our home, getting my bonsai plants setup and moved outdoors, and other projects, interruptions, and issues that have quickly altered my winter day-to-day work schedule.

I still have not painted and put together the side speaker boxes. I have the music done, which is wonderful, for after a month on this subject I would dread that idea of still having to create the cover music. That adds to the why I create the music before the artwork.

For this project I am using two sheets of steel each 6 inches by 24 inches. Like what I did with them in the past two artworks, I will bend them into a curve to enhance that 3 dimensional look I want. I also have a new method of mounting for those sheets, eliminating the need for the support of extra canvases and angle aluminum.

A different type of metal, mini corrugated steel, will be placed in the middle area of this artwork. Because this panel is sized at 26 by 36 inches, I had to figure out how to cut it to a size I could use. I have already learned that finding the right tools and developing the right skill for cutting galvanized steel will take time. My first attempt resulted in three pieces, of which I will use one. Although harder to size, I like corrugated metal. This type of metals with its V shape, adds depth to the artwork. Since it is also very magnet friendly, I can secure it to the canvas using magnets on the canvas backside. That is important, for to reduce this artwork length for transporting, the center canvas needs to be removed.

One last comment on the layout seen in this image. It is not accurate. One thing I have maintained consistently throughout the years is the up and down flow of my music. Although I break the rules, my rules, my music if it starts as an A, for example, as the first of my notes, elsewhere on the artwork the next A will also be very close in the same up and down height as the first. Of course as I have mentioned, I break the rules all the time, especially now that I use magnets that allow the music to be removed. That means that these artworks can and will change in appearance as they move on through their life. That last sentence puts these artworks into a small and unique group of misfits art.

Scott Von Holzen