Song Cycles is a new exhibition that will open at the Honan-Allston Art Gallery on June 4th, 2014 with an opening reception set for June 18th from 6:00 -7:45 pm. The reception is sponsored by Unbound Visual Arts, The Friends of the Honan-Allston Library and the Harvard Allston Education Portal. The exhibition features 17 member artists of Unbound Visual Arts that responded to call for art on the theme of music and meticulously selected by Curator Julia Ryan to create a cohesive group. The exhibition originally scheduled to close on July 30th has been extended to August 28th.
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See photos from the Opening Reception on June 18th here »
Selected Artwork by Curator Julia Ryan
- Jean Aserkoff “Pianissimo” and “Playing the Blues”
- Joanne Desmond “Performance Anxiety”
- Marian Dioguardi “She’s a Rainbow”
- Pheobe Ann Erb – “A for Apple,” “Solo Recital,” “Crescendo,” “G Cleff,” “Sing Softly,” “Soloist”
- Angela Fiori “Marion”
- Amy Kelly “Chartreuse”
- Heidi Lee “Mendelssohn’s Concerto”
- Pauline Lim “Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me,” “I Felt Very Close to Death,” “Gala Band in Tiznit, Morocco”
- Grace Luk “Red Sox: Sweet Caroline”
- Brenda Gael McSweeney
- “Baul Musician in West Bengal Train, India,” “Baul Minstrels singing and dancing in the Bhab (Thought) House,”
- “Famous Folk Minstrel Gautam Das Baul in Shantiniketan, West Bengal,””Gender Group girls dancing to Nobel Laureate Tagore Baul-inspired music,” “Baulsperforming at Mitali (“Abode of Peace”)”
- Jaclyn Meyer “Musing on Spring and Fish” and “Waterfall II”
- Nadia Richman “Crackling Sounds” and “Firey Melody”
- Laurel Rogers “Amanti Della Musica” and “Music Totem”
- Julia Siegelman “Untitled” – Artwork 2
- Christine Winship “The Dude from Phantom Glue”
- Regina Valluzzi “Logic,” “Dissonance”
- Ellen Zellner “The First Night”
Exhibition Statement
(prepared by Curator Julia Ryan)
(Image – Phoebe Ann Erb, Pianist, collage)
A song cycle is an intentional progression of songs, most often converging on a singular theme. In a way, this exhibition is just that: the works vary in media and style, however, through a continuous theme of music we find fresh ways to represent one form of fine art through another.
A technique commonly employed in song cycles is called word painting. Word painting communicates the meaning of words through musical expression, often by variations of pitch. For example: A vocalist sings about undulations in the sea while her voice moves up and down. Utilized throughout time, word painting aides the listener to envision narrative in a form of fine art devoid of visual expression.
This exhibition aims to explore this practice in reversal, in hopes of examining the relationship between different forms of artistic expression. How can visual art use symbols, color, texture and form to create a dialogue on the subject of music?