S_V_H Crazy Final Image

This is the final image of Crazy with its stands attached. When close to finishing an artwork, I will build the stands to allow better access to complete the work. The alternative would be to place the artwork on easels, making it difficult to access the stereo system, or the music notes attached to the canvas with magnets on the backside.

Although I signed and dated this artwork on July 22nd, I soon realized that I was not done. I forgot all those interesting musical items that add interest to the work. I am referring to all those small white objects attached to the music that in musical terms are the dots, beams, sixteen notes, and staff lines.

Crazy W66.5″xH45″xD8″

Here are my, this-work-is-finally done, comments on the Music Box Crazy posted on YouTube:

I have created a new website, emptywallsart.com, to better market this art and to support and promote the works of 6 other artists that are a part of the group. Organizing artists was only made possible with the help of two of the other six members, Jeff Nelson and Christy Skuban. This website is to be used to sell group exhibitions for Galleries and Art organizations.
Our group has the foundational connection in that we are all three-dimensional artists. Four of us are wall mounted and two are sculptural artists. We then offer the flexibility to a gallery, for example, the option to choose which artists would fit their best interests. Because of the diversity and the talent in this group, there will be kinks to be worked out. A positive side of this collaboration will hopefully come with the larger resource in ideas and venue opportunities to promote and sell our three-dimensional art to ever larger markets. My thinking is that the group will become greater than the sum of its members.

This is the Home page for EmptyWallsArt

It is obvious, even to me, after reading a few of these blog posts, how frustrating it has been to find ways to, as I would say, “break on through to the other side.” I have tried Art fairs, in and outdoors, local and distant exhibitions, and websites to market this art, and they all eventually reach the same level and result: no movement in this art. A show begins and ends, an exhibition begins and ends, an art sale occasionally begins and ends. As a wise man at an outdoor art fair told me, all these art venues reset every year.

These types of art exhibitions are fine to add names and dates to an art resume, but that is all their worth. Understandably, this art is not your typical craft work (make up your own definition of craft versus art, mine way below) that fills these shows and is appealing to the public for their prettiness, highly polished look, or eye-catching use of color. Therefore, I have made this turning point: “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” ~ Albert Einstein.

Something I wish to document and share:

The one-year anniversary of the passing of my brother, Roger, is drawing near. In my tribute to him I wrote a story poem that took months for me to complete. At his celebration of life, this last June 4th, I read it aloud, with encouragement from my family. I believe this story poem contains many universal moments and meanings about the difficulties of losing someone close to you that others may relate to.

I started writing this story poem in early February and finished the last changes in early June. It took so long to produce that I felt for me and Roger’s memory I would release it slowly. The poem is in fifteen different sections. The plan, starting with this post, is to make public the first section of this poem. Then, in the next fourteen blog posts, I will add another section until the poem is complete. Here is the first of fifteen sections of my poem dedicated to my brother Roger Von Holzen.

Roger’s poem

The sun in winter
 is all too short.
Who knew as you move through our lives,
that yours would follow the winter sun.

Scott Von Holzen

Art vs Craft

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

S_V_H Crazy image 2 update

The Music Box Crazy

I have always liked this song for reasons unknown. I never thought of painting it until I was watching a YouTube Art video and heard another cover of it by a street singer. Here is that cover of Crazy heard right from the start of the YouTube video by James Kalm:

The colors for this music box come from Gnarls Barkley’s outfit at his Grammy performance of Crazy and the violin section in this other YouTube live version:

The backside of Crazy showing the speaker install.

This is an advanced cover of the audio for the song Crazy. Like the YouTube video versions I liked these slower versions of the original.

This artwork needs to be completed. Its time has passed. The audio, as mentioned, is not done. At this stage the audio is being tested through computer speakers. The audio system for Crazy is my hand built system with its own custom speakers. When I am good with the sound of this cover on my computer speakers, a Bose system, I will then install that copy onto the music box and listen to that sound. Since the artworks speaker system is only two 4″ speakers, no doubt I will have to adjust it. I will then need to tweak the equalizer, the reverb, and balance, for example, until I hear a sound that is as good-as-it-gets. Then that is it.

Scott von Holzen

S_V_H Crazy first image

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