Can a painting create music? An experiment in painting and music pushes boundaries

Artist Makoto Fujimura slowly crouches then moves in stocking feet over a paper canvas spread across the floor. He shifts his leg in front of a small black box and a rumble fills the room. He swivels again and the tone changes. Then he lowers a paintbrush that's 4-foot (1.22-meter) high or so onto the paper and a new sound trumpets.

As brush and body seem to dance, a song emerges. From his grand piano, Jerzy Sapieyevski plays a counterpart and "Painted Music" takes shape. Premiering at the Dillon Gallery in Chelsea this fall, "Painted Music" is a real-time exploration into "how we hear colour and art," says gallery owner Valerie Dillon. Composer Sapieyevski has long seen the potential in combining emerging technologies with music. While the technology used in "Painted Music" may not be new, its application is intriguing. Painting and music are natural companions. Italian musician Giovanni Maria Pala recently claimed to have discovered a musical composition hidden in Leonardo's "Last Supper" 

Wassily Kandinsky famously wanted his splashes of colour and line to be "heard." Paul Klee, an accomplished musician, applied the themes and theories of music to his art. Building on this history, Sapieyevski created a motion sensor box that is mounted above the artist's canvas. Each space on and around the canvas corresponds to notes and styles preprogrammed by Sapieyevski. So when the artist moves his or her hand, every motion creates a sound. The artist doesn't create the sounds, Sapieyevski says, "I give him the notes."

But the artist creates a spontaneous composition out of those notes on the canvas. The pianist composes a response, to which the painter reacts, and the process goes back and forth. The idea is a true dialogue: The look of the painting depends on the musician's playing, just as the musician's composition depends on the look of the painting. This is a somewhat risky position for an artist. In a medium based on solitude and control, an unscripted collaboration in front of an audience takes away all the safety nets. Luckily, Sapieyevski found a willing spirit in Fujimura, a master of traditional Japanese Nihonga painting.

Literally meaning "Japanese style paintings," Nihonga uses traditional methods and materials, typically mineral and metal based paints and silk or rice paper. Fujimura's layered, engaging works, often on view at the Dillon Gallery, sell for between $4,000 (euro2,700) and $150,000 (euro101,760) and exude an easy vibrancy and calm. Fujimura, who says he "loves to take risks, especially when it comes to broadening the language of art," and the composer worked together for eight months, culminating in what Sapieyevski calls a "risky proposition."

Despite drawbacks, Dillon says that the "painting process worked beautifully." Fujimura created three works, one of which recently sold for $45,000 (euro30,530). And while he acknowledges that there are areas that need to be worked out, Fujimura says he is comfortable creating in front of an audience - "It's not whether people are watching. It's whether I feel connected to the work."

Visually, there was a lot to focus on: Sapieyevski was a presence at his piano, arms and hands drifting heavenward as he leaned back and swayed to his boisterous, robust composition with an occasional, loud "Ahh."

Meanwhile, Fujimura calmly moved between his floor canvas and his easel canvas, and two large screens projected the process as it was happening, filmed by cinematographers Mott Hupfel, III and Dan Hershey. But combining multiple disciplines does not mean they will necessarily speak to each other. Wassily Kandinsky famously wanted his splashes of colour and line to be "heard." Paul Klee, an accomplished musician, applied the themes and theories of music to his art. Building on this history, Sapieyevski created a motion sensor box that is mounted above the artist's canvas.
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Among the musicians and scientists, who recognized the significance of Sapieyevski’s “Painted Music” project was James Trefil, a leading science writer. In his book “Why Science?”, published by Columbia University Trefil writes:

“Jerzy Sapieyevski is a professor of music at American University. He has a long time interest in finding ways to unify music with the other arts. In the particular performance I attended, two painters were working on canvases while detectors measured the movement of their brushes. The signals from these detectors were fed into synthesizers…. In essence, the painters had become both visual artists and musicians…. Explorations like Jerzy’s are the lifeblood of art. If no one is willing to try new ideas, art (like science) stagnates. I also know that without a lot of technology, this kind of experimentation simply couldn’t be done.”

Selected Press on "Painted Music"  
In 'Painted Music,' a duet of art and sound - Los Angeles Times, CA - Dec 21, 2007;   Creative combination: painting and piano - Pueblo Chieftain, CO - Dec 15, 2007;   Can a painting create music? - Manila Bulletin, Philippines - Dec 14, 2007;   Experiment in paint, music crosses lines - NewsOK.com, OK - Dec 13, 2007;   Can a painting create music? - The Herald-Times, IN - Dec 8, 2007;   An experiment in painting and music pushes boundaries - Daily Camera, CO - Dec 8, 2007;   Can a painting create music? - Post-Bulletin, MN - Dec 7, 2007;   Can paintings create music? - Times of India, India - Dec 7, 2007;   Can a painting create music? An experiment in painting and music ... Inside.com (Pressemitteilung), Austria - Dec 6, 2007;   Composing a picture of art - Washington Times  - Dec 5, 2007; Artist Makoto Fujimura (above) joined with composer Jerzy Sapieyevski to create "Painted Music"  ; Can a painting create music? An experiment pushes boundaries - CBC.ca,  Canada - Dec 5, 2007  ; Can a painting create music? An experiment pushes boundaries - Brandon Sun,  Canada - Dec 5, 2007;   Can a painting create music? An experiment pushes boundaries - The Canadian Press - Dec 5, 2007;

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