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"Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter." - Keats
Glenn Barr digs zither music! Who knew?
That cryptic observation will (hopefully) assume some sort of clarity at the conclusion of this article. In the meantime, let's happily draw your attention to the fact that Barr, one of Detroit's most esteemed artists, is curating a show at 323East called Lyric.
And yes, as the title suggests, Lyric is essentially about music and art - or more specifically, music and artists. Barr asked the participants (all friends and colleagues) to select a song or key words from a song and then paint what they felt. The resulting works are a remarkable and colorful library of "transcriptions" that lend a keen degree of insight into the personality of each artist. Indeed, the emotional motifs run the gamut from somber to humorous.
Barr briefly stopped pounding nails into the walls at 323 for a quick interview.
The theme seemed like such a universal and attractive subject that I knew my artist friends would love to tackle it. Everyone is inspired by music in some way and everyone has a favorite song. It goes without saying that everyone interprets a song differently too. A simple question presented itself - Why not ask your favorite artist to transcribe a LYRIC into a visual narrative? The art you'll see is the collective answer.
Do you think a painter or anyone actively involved in the arts is by nature more sensitive to music?
I don’t know about being more "sensitive" toward music if you're an artist. It’s just that an artist has the knowledge or the skill to express a song visually. Like album cover art may strike a chord reflecting what you hear once the record itself is on the turntable - an inspired feeling that says it all or merely hints at it. It’s all subjective actually.
When were you first inspired to paint something in response to a song.
I’ve always had an illustrative mind and I’ve been interpreting words and thoughts since well before college. Having a large record collection at a young age gave me a certain affection toward the medium. That’s why all the artists were asked to format their art to a 12 x 12 dimension which is the general size of an LP.
Every artist in the show was personally selected by you. Is there a common denominator linking them all?
Only that I know all the artists personally and I've always admired their works. I participated in group shows with several of them in the past. Sometimes they’d come to my solo shows or I would come to theirs and a friendship would result. I think that sort of common ground or shared experience makes an effort like this successful and this should prove to be a wonderful show for everyone involved.
And what are YOU listening to these days?
This week? I just picked up Silverghost’s “The Year We Make Contact” and it's great! I'm also listening to “The Dobro Sounds Goin’ ‘Round”, a fine collection of instrumentals. And I'm really enjoying the soundtrack to The Third Man.
Lyric
Opening reception March 19
6pm to 9 pm
323 East Gallery
323 E. Fourth Street
Royal Oak
248-246-9544
The artists participating are:
Michael Segal
THH70
Gary Taxali
Cammy d’Errico
Travis Louie
Davin Brainard
Chris Riccardi
Brandt Peters
Kathie Olivas
Joey Seeman
Bask
Lisa Petrucci
Rick Morris
Chet Zar
Trevor Young
Mark Dancey
Bryan Cunningham
Marie Blanco Hendrixx
Chris Dean
Brandi Milne
Calef Brown
William Wray
Yumiko Kayukawa
