Works by University of Alabama art students in ART 444 inspired by the music of renowned jazz composer and musician Anthony Braxton are on exhibit Feb. 6-27 at The University of Alabama Gallery in the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center in downtown Tuscaloosa. The exhibit, “Anthony Braxton: Falling River Music Exhibition,” coincides with Braxton’s weeklong residency at UA Feb. 18-25.
Some of the students in the Advanced Concepts in Drawing (ART 444) class have agreed to let us post images and descriptions of their interpretive process on this page. Below are photos of the gallery at installation time, by Ali Hval.
ALI HVAL: I am working on a large-scale fabric piece made of modular pieces that begins on the wall then flows to the ground. It is/will be using a similar color scheme and work(s) with the material in a way similar to how Braxton seems to approach music making: in the specific composition I was given, I heard Braxton’s music in chunks and pieces that reflected the whole through the entire listen, but still managed to be a seamless entity. I am working on a piece that gives off that same feeling by re-using the same materials in different way throughout my entire piece—so it’s made from the same thing but interpreted differently. [BELOW: Ali Hval, Genesis, 2015, silk chiffon, muslin, panty hose, plastic wrap, piping and paracord, dimensions variable, approx. 6’x10’x12′. Photo courtesy of the artist.]
MITCHELL GRIEST: Each of us have taken on one of Anthony Braxton’s unique visual scores and one of his auditory compositions and are in the process of making work in response to it. Of course we are considering his larger body of work as well, but paying special attention to the pieces we were assigned individually as jumping off points…I am working on a series of paintings on mirrors that mimic some of the freehand, loose strokes present in some of Braxton’s scores, with my response to his carefully added and more rigidly formed elements (straight-edged lines, symbols, etc.) being that I have carefully edged the quickly painted forms with fine ink lines. My idea is to demonstrate a visual synthesis of the quick and improvised—almost sloppy—and the meticulously handled. [BELOW: Mitchell Griest, untitled, 2015, house paint and India ink on 12″ x 12″ mirror. Image courtesy of the artist.]
BRITTANY GUNNELLS: A.B. Composition 364a: The Factory, 2015, wood, paint, washers, chimes, xylophone pieces, joint fasteners, screws, string and marbles (pictured is Ausharea Adams). Image courtesy of the artist. [image below]
JENNIFER OCAMPO: After listening to one of Anthony Braxton’s musical scores and looking at the art work that went along with it, I interpreted what I heard and saw through dance, which was recorded by paint I laid out on the blank, un-stretched canvas. Every sound I heard, every notation on the paper, was recorded by my footing. Like the assortment of instruments that experimental musicians use when playing one of Braxton’s compositions, my body was mine. [BELOW: Jennifer Ocampo, a ballad, 2015, acrylic paint on canvas. Image courtesy of the artist.]
