The next artist I wanted to try was Wayne Thiebaud. He is one of my favorite painters. He is famous for his cakes and candies, but I like his landscapes, especially his cityscapes. The problem was that I did not have the image of a specific painting in my head, only the style he works in. Here is one of his cityscapes, "Hill Street (Day City)" that is similar to what I was imagining (click on it to enlarge):
Recorded on June 11th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.
As you can hear, this piece never goes anywhere. I was not satisfied with where I was getting, and when my left hand started walking without me into a blues, it tripped and, well, I put an end to that right there.
I should have realized that using such a hazy, unspecific image in my head would not work, but I didn't, so (after a little shake out and sip of water) I tried again, with a different, more melancholy tack.
Recorded on June 11th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.
I was not far into this new improv when I realized that I was no longer imagining a Wayne Thiebaud painting. Instead, a different painting had crept into my head, one which I could see specifically: Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks." Here is the painting (click to enlarge):
The melancholy of this piece did not fit the sunny Thiebaud style at all, and latched onto another urban American painting with a more personal gloom. Strange how the subconscious works, isn't it?
4 comments:
These links are busted. What gives, man?
The first piece you bailed on kinda reminds me of your "Linda Gradstein" post, but with jagged edges or something.
What an incredible idea! Using art to inspire impromptu sound. I also love the somewhat austere cityscapes of Wayne Thiebaud. I would be interested in an in-depth exploration of this subject matter.
Thanks, Kimberly and Vanessa, for your comments! Vanessa, did you mean an in-depth exploration of using art to inspire impromptu sound? It is indeed an interesting subject. I was exploring it mostly subconsciously in my project (you can read and hear more here: http://montchrishubbard.com/palettes.html), but I'd be interested in reading or talking more about it.
And Kimberly, I am interested in investment opportunities in Costa Rica too. I haven't sold quite enough CD's yet, but I'll let you know when I do!
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