Tag: ART

S_V_H Mercy Mercy Me (Ecology) first image

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

This is the first image for an exhibition with an environmental theme.   My submission is the music of Marvin Gaye,  Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)  This song would not have been my first choice of  Marvin Gaye music if it was not for the opportunity to show.*  At first, I felt no way could I qualify after reading the Pablo’s exhibition details.  Part of it read “….. this exhibit will feature works of art that examine how we interact with and effect the surrounding environment. We invite designers, artists, and creatives of all kinds who work with environmental topics or interests in the Life Sciences to apply…..”  I do not comprehend what the Pablo Center expects for entries.  Their statement was so general, that music with environmental concerns may well quality.  The song Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) was my obvious first choice.  While developing this project my research brought up another song choice, Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell.   Too deep into Mercy to change I dropped Taxi idea.  It will be a great choice for the next environment exhibition.

The song Mercy Mercy takes me back to a faint memory of the first Earth Day and the commotion on the campus of the University of Wisconsin. I did not take part that April day in 1970.  While at the University I recall discussions concerning feeding an overpopulated world but not the environment.   Back then I was mostly into graduating, meeting girls, and reducing sugar in my diet.  Who can forget the taste of Tab?

Here is a video of Marvin Gaye’s Mercy Mercy Me:

The color theme of this artwork is simple ecology.  The musical staffs, or my musical sticks, represent the land as bright green.  As the music moves across the artwork the colors fade to a near-death brown.  Then my sticks revive to a life returning light green that deepens to symbolize the recovery of the environment.  The round musical flow wood shapes, covered with digital canvas images of the sky follow the same environments changes.  I cover the 10×10 canvases to protect the mounted digital canvas images.

Scott Von Holzen

*My favorite Marvin Gaye song is I Heard it through the Grapevine.  That moment arrived at the opening scene of the movie The Big Chill.  I must not forget the California Raisins commercials. 

S_V_H The Theme Schindler’s List – Final image

Published on by Scott Von Holzen
Constructed Sculpture of streched canvas, digital canvas prints, aluminum, and wood. 71.5 inches wide by 65.25 inches high.
L65″ x H71″ x D4″

I have completed the artwork, The Theme from Schindler’s List.   This picture is the largest project using aluminum framing.  The Theme from the movie Schindler’s List is six feet wide and sixty-five inches high.  If I had designed this artwork in 2018,  it would have been a long pencil-shaped flow of music eighteen feet.  What changed began in late 2018 with Africa the first artwork with multiple sections.  The boxy shape of Africa eliminated the limits of reasonable length and make hanging the finish works much easier.  There is still cleanup, photography, and a video to produce.  After, the plan is to hang this painting in the living room, for no other reason then hanging is a safe method for storing it.

Every new artwork comes with different challenges that need solutions.  From this project beginnings, I wanted this artwork large.  Big artworks have more impact on the viewer.  What I found out was that big artwork are difficult to handle in the more limited space of my current studio.  Not that I cannot do it.  In the past, this was not such an issue for I bolted multiple canvases together to create larger works in a studio that had the advantage of length.  I could then unbolt them for travel.   For this project, I needed a similar approach with my current angled aluminum framing.  The solution was to detach the bottom third aluminum framed section. I also experimented with another size reducing idea that allowed the music and the artwork to stay large but compacted.  Instead of reducing the size of the artwork I eliminated the spacing between the three sections. The recent artworks, Africa, Giant Steps and Rainbow have a considerable spacing between sections.   Although more manageable, I found that the build took on a busy confusing look.  This concern increase with placing the ties and beams.  All those narrow rectangle shapes painted black with gold striping could easily add clutter.  I wanted no more added confusion to this artwork.  My solution was to reduce their size and aligned them all across the artwork horizontally to counter all the vertical movements.

After, a long delay I upgraded the sound system used in this artwork.  In the past, I used a small plastic recordable sound box, used with stuff animals. It comes with a 1/2-watt amp with an inch size speaker. This worked well in my artworks because one model came with a  10-inch extension wired play button. This allowed me to mount the sound box inside the back of a canvas and the push button on the artwork.   For ten dollars each, this was an effective and cheap solution.  My new sound system comprises two, three-inch speakers powered by a two-watt stereo amplifier along with storage for audio files which I add using a computer.  In comparison, the price for this stereo upgrade is forty dollars.   What makes it worth the cost is my growing understanding of the capabilities of the free notation software by MuseScore.   I can now create ever better arrangements to play through a sound system with improved dynamic range, clarity, and depth that justifies the cost.

This artwork’s color style comes from the black and white movie Schindler’s List.  Red is the only stand out color used on the one sharp.  This color is to acknowledge the scene from the movie of the girl in the red coat.   As for the color gold, I learned its effects from past artworks to enrich the color black.  Finally, the small gray and black digital prints on canvas mounted wood I added for interest and to fill space.   I used two as faceplates for the speaker boxes.

I am unsure about doing another large work.  Looking back to 2012 I painted thirteen large The Four Seasons paintings over two years.  I finished them in a larger size studio. More room made it easier to handle fifteen-foot paintings and larger.  My current studio is nice but has less space for such size works. I can do large size works again, without a “bigger boat.”   Organization of my studio space will be an important factor in my success with my next big one.

I accomplished what I wanted to with this artwork. It is a good portrait of a touching and enduring piece of classical violin music. My next project is Mercy Mercy Me (Ecology).  This work will be my entry for a local exhibition that is due the first week in June at the local Pablo Art center.  I already have three rejections from them.   Hum, “things that make you go, hum?”  This could be my fourth not interested, but by applying, I am in the game, where I need to be.    Hum, at this moment, that is the way.

 

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H The Theme (Schindler’s List) image 4

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

This artwork is looking less chaotic by adding my slurs, beams and even a tie.  Those features help to break up the vertical back-en-forth visual wishy-washy of the music,  while also filling space.  Their mostly horizontal placement connects to the artwork’s three frames,

This artwork is part of the project to answer two questions: can I make larger artworks in a breakdown way so I can transport when needed.  I accomplished that.  I can remove the bottom section of this artwork which then allows the top two sections to fit in the back of RAV4.  Second, can I lay down my music flow in a less rigid way ( a difficult task considering that I do read and understand musical notation) and move even more away from the design rules of notation.  That change would not affect the casual viewer, but for those that read music (an important group of supporters), to decipher the music of the artwork would be more challenging.  Here is the story behind why I came up with the second question.

Last fall I exhibited at the Falling Leaves Art show.  The show was indoors at a nearby high school that had a wall made to hang items.  This then made my setup easy and simple.  It was at this show that I hung a signature artwork, Mozart’s Turkish March, that also had a music box installed.   This artwork did not get accepted (a major disappointment) for the first art show at the grand opening of our new art center.  I thought this fine work needed to be shown in public. It was during the setup that the high school music teacher came up to me, and after taking a  quick look at the artwork, told me what the music was before I play the music.  That was a big surprise.  I don’t recall thinking that he had heard me playing the music, or if he had overheard that it was a Mozart artwork.  After he left I had a strange feeling that my artworks were still uncomfortably too close to sheet music.   I felt that after more than twelve years of trying to separate my art from sheet music, at less with music teachers,  my feelings were how easy I was still making artworks that a trained musical eye could still connect my music flow to sheet music.   Of course, I  feel that people following the flow of the art,  when playing the music, or knowing the music is and always will be a fundamental part of understanding this art.  That was certainly still obvious today 2018’s Turkish March.  It is with this experimental artwork, thought of an advanced 2020 project, that I am experimenting with loosening up what is left of my own rules of sheet music.  If this works it then may be necessary for musicians to read the title of the artwork for the clue to deciphering what the theme of the artwork is.   On second thought, maybe it would have been a lot easier to paint music in a unique style if I never learned to read music.  On third thought, I would not be painting music,  it all, if I did not at first understand the notation behind the music.

Scott