Exploring Music in Visual Art
Can we hear a painting? The idea of paintings creating music has captivated artists for centuries. While some might scoff at the notion, for those open to artistic exploration, the question becomes: how can we translate the emotions and sounds of music into visual art? And what would be even more exciting: can you create images that have a musical effect on the viewer?
I am pretty sure that if there was a need, a computer program could be written that would convert images into music. Perhaps we will live to see it. Until then, we will have to rely on our imagination.
Early Attempts to Capture Music
Historical evidence suggests this pursuit stretches back millennia. For example, certain rock paintings seem to embody the essence of music and dance [1].
Throughout art history, countless painters have tackled this challenge. Recently, I was struck by the surrealist interpretations of Mozart’s music by Roberto Matta in a Vienna exhibition [2].
Personal Experiments: From Opera to Ambient
My ongoing project, “The Magic Sea,” explores the interplay between music and visual art. Inspired by Richard Wagner’s operas, particularly his concept of a Gesamtkunstwerk (total artwork), I began by translating “Rheingold” into a painting I had presented before. This initial effort focused on capturing the mood and world at the bottom of the Rhine, where the Rhine daughters guard the gold.
A subsequent work titled “Overture” delves deeper into the concept of translating sound into image. Here the audience imagines that they are sitting in an opera house and the tension is rising as the conductor raises his baton and the curtain gradually rises.
Challenges and New Directions
Further explorations within the “Ring” cycle proved the difficulty of expressing music through an expressionist style, especially with Wagner’s complex compositions.
I have varied my attempt a little and tried to capture the essence of Bruckner’s 9th Symphony. While the green tones capture a sense of Bruckner’s music’s complexity, power and compactness, the work remains largely descriptive.
Finding Harmony Through Reduction
I think I’ve already mentioned that I tried to pay attention to the (time) space between the tones as part of mindfulness exercises. This exercise sparked a new direction. Asian music, with its focus on transient tones and silence, seemed a more suitable source of inspiration. Shakuhachi flute music [4] exemplifies this attempt quite well. (music sample)
To return to Western music, I studied Bach’s “Music Book for Anna Magdalena Bach” and captured the childlike innocence of this music in a piece that could easily serve as an album cover. Bach’s perfect harmony, sparkling tones, and depth in simplicity have not lost their charm to this day.
Embracing Complexity and Modernity
Taking this approach further, I tackled the work of Arvo Pärt, particularly “Spiegel im Spiegel”, his most frequently played work. The aim was to capture both the content and form of the music within the painting.
While some sounds seem to me to be floating, I see the sounds of the xylophone as jumping. Only when they are in the air do they tell their story.
In a previous article, “Emptiness, Space, and Depth,” I introduced similar monochrome works from this series. Today, I revisit a piece inspired by Brian Eno, a contemporary musician who frequently influences my work. This final painting attempts to capture the sound of ambient music during a live performance (My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Brian Eno and David Byrne).
The Experiment Continues
This exploration of music and painting is an ongoing journey. Thank you for joining me on this exploration of the fascinating connections between these two art forms!
footnotes
[1] A section of the Cederberg rock painting was digitally enhanced to enhance the colors red-ochre. © Neil Rusch. This processing helped to emphasize the character of the music.
[2] Roberto Matt exhibition at the Bank Austria Forum, February 24, 2024 – June 2, 2024
[3] Wagner’s idea of the Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art) has fascinated me since my youth and still influences a large part of my work today. The same applies to his method of depicting people and objects in his operas in themes.
[4] The primary genres of shakuhachi music are: Honkyoku (traditional, solo) Sankyoku (ensemble, with koto and shamisen) Shinkyoku (new music composed for shakuhachi and koto, commonly post-Meiji period compositions influenced by Western music)
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