GREATEXPECTATIONS Musical Inspirations Art Contest 2018 Exhibit Catalog
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Dear Contest Winners, Congratulations on being selected as a winner of the Musical Inspirations Art contest. The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts is proud to partner with the Louisville Orchestra to present this important program honoring the artistic talents of youth throughout the Commonwealth. Through the generous support of The Gheens Foundation, KMEA, 90.5 WUOL Classical Louisville, and Dr. Laman Gray and Juliet Cooper Gray, we are thrilled to feature your art as part of this collaboration with The Louisville Orchestra, the Louisville Youth Orchestra, and Gheens artists Nicholas Recktenwald, Spur of the Moment jazz quintet, and conductor Doug Elmore. The Kentucky Center’s mission statement reads: The Kentucky Center is dedicated to its mission of leading and enriching the artistic, educational and economic vitality of the region by providing unparalleled programming and cultural events. Our mission is exemplified through exceptional projects like the Musical Inspirations Art Contest, providing students from across the Commonwealth the opportunity to create and showcase musically-inspired artwork. We are so proud to exhibit this artwork in our Mary Anderson Room as well as project those pieces awarded a first-place designation on video screens during the evening performance which will feature the Louisville Orchestra and Louisville Youth Orchestra. The pieces are an incredible expression of your imagination and talent, inspired by Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. We congratulate you for your exemplary work; and are proud to welcome you to our Kentucky Center family.
Kim Baker President & CEO
ART INSPIRES MUSIC & MUSIC INSPIRES ART Two Russians, a composer named Modest Mussorgsky and a painter named Viktor Hartmann shared a friendship that was memorialized following Hartmann’s death by Mussorgsky’s iconic piano work Pictures at an Exhibition, which depicts the composer walking through an exhibit of his late friend’s paintings. A frequently performed virtuoso piece, this work was later orchestrated by Maurice Ravel and has become a staple in the orchestral repertoire. It consists of several movements called “Promenade” which refer to the composer walking among the paintings. Of the ten movements not called “Promenade”, the Hartmann paintings from five of these movements have survived, leaving the world wondering what art inspired the other five movements. The Musical Inspirations Art Contest was created by The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts and the Louisville Orchestra to explore that question. While Mussorgsky’s music was inspired by Hartmann’s art, students in grades 8-12 throughout Kentucky had the opportunity to create two-dimensional art inspired Mussorgsky’s music. More specifically, they created art based on movements not called “Promenade”, for which no Hartmann paintings survived. More than 80 art submissions were made for the contest and adjudicators narrowed the submission to 5 first prize winners and 12 honorable mention awardees. The works of the five prize winners were projected onto large screens during a live performance of Pictures at an Exhibition by the Louisville Orchestra and Louisville Youth Orchestra on February 7, 2018, in Whitney Hall at The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in Louisville. There was also an art exhibition featuring the winning artworks and honorable mention pieces along with a reception in the Mary Anderson Room following the concert. The Kentucky Center is proud to produce this limited-edition exhibit catalog featuring the art and artist statements of all the first prize and honorable mention awardees.
BYLDO
Independent Oxen Pull A Floral Decorated Cart copic marker and copic pen on copic paper Mayme Taylor Boyle County High School, Danville First Place I started my artistic process by listening to all five of the movements of Pictures at an Exhibition. “Byldo” stood out to me because it helped me visualize a completed picture in my mind. I felt the music’s slow-paced rhythm represented the oxen’s heavy footsteps meandering through the outdoor market on a pebbled path and I envisioned two woolly oxen slowly pulling an unmanned decorative cart. The cart is riderless because the old oxen have taken this route so many times they don’t need any human guidance. I sketched my vision in pencil. I outlined my sketch with different sized Copic pens. Lastly, I completed the artwork by coloring the composition with Copic markers.
Journey Through the Deep Forest colored pencil and oil paint Eli Durham, Taylor County High School, Campbellsville Honorable Mention I chose the movement, “Byldo� because the bass voices in the orchestra reminded me of heavy, hardworking steps. I wanted to portray the elements of hard work - the oxen, the cart, and the driver - with dull, muted colors, while portraying the sky and the leaves on the trees with brighter, more vibrant colors. To achieve the more muted look, I used neutralized brown colored pencils for the elements of monotonous hard work. To achieve the vibrancy of nature, I used oil paints in a Van Gogh impressionist style called impasto, so that the texture would be clearly visible. The analogous green oil paints, combined with small amounts of orange and yellow for the trees, and the swirling blue and white of the sky clearly define the beauty of nature as opposed to the monotony of hard labor.
The Vanishing Traveler watercolor and pen Alexa Craft, Paul G. Blazer High School, Ashland Honorable Mention My artwork is titled The Vanishing Traveler, and for this piece I used pen and watercolor. I chose the musical movement “Byldo� because through the use of music I was taken to another place apart from our reality. I was inspired by the musical piece through the way I could feel a story being told throughout the course of the piece. Specifically, for me, I felt a story of mystery and discovery towards a destination while traveling through an eerie and absolutely unique area. Therefore, I decided to make a path that was set between a whimsical dream-like area that is full of color while the traveler on this journey is on its way towards the unknown- towards his vanishing.
LIMOGES.
Broken Key watercolor and sharpie Shelby Wilson Paul G. Blazer High School, Ashland First place My piece was inspired by the song “The Market�. While sitting with a blank sheet decided which song to choose from I closed my eyes and listened. I painted what I heard. The beginning of the song starts soft and slowly intensifies, hence the light calming colors blending in with the darker intense colors. The spiral represents the path the music takes as it slowly begins to end. This song stood out to me because at the end of the song it cuts off, it leaves you wondering what it could have been. The sudden white in my painting and the notes that continue to travel into that white are supposed to make you wonder what it could have been. There is also a crack drawn into my painting which also represents that sudden stop. It is what I would imagine what it would be to see the music in this song.
The Separation of Classes watercolor and colored pencil Cristy Napier, Harlan County High School, Baxter Honorable Mention In The Separation of Classes, I knew I wanted somewhat of a backstory as to why these two women are arguing. I chose to include a flapper girl and a woman of high status to reflect their differences. “Limoges� was a very intriguing category and I wanted to challenge myself in the way I portrayed their egos. The music was very fast paced so I wanted the artwork to reflect that with the fuzzy boarders and environment to make the viewer feel the same emotions I did while listening to the music.
Utopia Sky watercolor Anna Heineman, Paul G. Blazer High School, Ashland Honorable Mention I drew my art piece, Utopia Sky, while listening to “Limoges”. The song’s changing fast and slow tempo was the major inspiration for my piece. The slow and happy tempo inspired the colorful background while the fast and suspenseful tempo inspired the dark black lines invading the page.
THE GNOME
Mushroom March watercolor and marker Anya Hartman Lafayette High School, Lexington First place My art piece is a watercolor painting of a gnome running through a colorful mushroom forest. He is chasing music notes in front of him, and there is a string of notes on a treble and bass clef behind him. I originally chose to paint this because the music that fits the work (Mussorgsky’s “The Gnome”) spoke to me when I first heard it. With light and peppy notes followed by an ominous and intimidating tone, the work’s varying moods and dynamics had me deeply interested. While it was required of me to draw a gnome with funny knees, I chose to have him connect with the music as I did.
The Great Chase tagboard, watercolor, and marker Blaire Killmeier, Presentation Academy, Louisville Honorable Mention I chose to do a piece based on the gnome music. I enjoyed listening to all the music selections but “The Gnome� told the best story to me. Throughout the music, I could imagine how I pictured the gnome and his facial feature, what he was running from, the time it took place, and location. All of these factors created my piece of a long-legged, like me, garden gnome running from the woods at night. The painting I created leaves an open place for the imagination of the viewer to choose what this gnome is running from so frantically.
Life Machine marker McKinney Meek , Paul G. Blazer High School, Ashland Honorable Mention In the music of the “Gnomus�, the flow has an ascending pattern and then suddenly falls. This rhythmically paints a picture of the greater unknown, like a small creature hiding from something bigger. With markers I created an entity without a start or end; it has no set orientation. I chose to do this abstract creation because it, just like the predator in the song, can come from anywhere at anytime.
Woodland Pursuit watercolor, marker, acrylic, gel pen, ink Sarah Brown, Abeka Academy, Russellville Honorable Mention My artwork Woodland Pursuit depicts a tiny gnome darting from tree to tree in a magical yet mysterious woods full of mushrooms and greenery. The mediums used in this painting range from watercolor paints to markers and ink. I chose to create a painting based on “Gnomus” because I could clearly envision the gnome’s every move with each crescendo and decrescendo that was played. This movement inspired me to paint a picture full of color and excitement, but also to paint an image that would capture the feeling of urgency while the gnome ran in the forest.
THE OLD CASTLE
The Moth’s Demise gouache and acrylic Hayley Reed Noe Middle School, Louisville First Place I chose the music “The Old Castle”, because I loved the ominous mood it created and it was so different from all the others to choose from. I wanted the details in the candle to be kind of subtle and not too rough because the piece was very calming in a weird way. The moths already in the candle were to amplify the mood I wanted to create, like “is that moth going to go into the candle too?”, and adding another one in the background is kind of a notation that it’s a cycle. I really wanted the piece to show something a little disturbing with a mysterious element with it because that’s the music felt like to me, ominous and foreboding.
Black Castle ballpoint pen Victoria Hinds, Shelby County High School, Shelbyville Honorable Mention My piece is a modern take on a classic old English castle. Using just a black ball point pen, I focused on detailed cross hatching and shading. I chose this movement because it related with my artistic style the most and the complexity of the music matches the piece I created.
Cloak chalk pastel Kastin Hoffman, Paul G. Blazer High School, Ashland Honorable Mention I chose to base my artwork off of the piece “The Old Castle�. Using chalk pastels, I created a scene inspired by the darkness and anticipation of the music. It focuses on a quiet and scurrying adventure.
Perpetual Dream paper, colored pencil, pen, pencil Jordana Pullem, Paul G. Blazer High School, Ashland Honorable Mention
TUILERIES
Enchanted Garden colored pencil, watercolor Samarah Courtney Henderson County High School, Henderson First Place I made this piece as it is because when I first listened to the “Tuileries Gardens� it reminded me of a fairy prancing through a garden. The grace and beauty of the song and the mid tempos really inspired me to draw a fairy with many kinds of little details in between! Whenever I was coloring the background I was originally going to color it in colored pencil, but I wanted to add a more vivid background to bring out the fairies dress a little more, so I made it one simple color- blue.
The Dance watercolor Emma Spade, Paul G. Blazer High School, Ashland Honorable Mention I used watercolor to complete the background and the figures of the dancers, who are light blue to compliment the dull surroundings. I chose “Tuileries� because it gave a tone of youthful freedom and adventure, as well as the weightless falling of leaves in a forest. For this free-flowing mood I was inspired to use watercolor for its uncontrollable nature.
Musical Flower chalk pastel Christopher March, Paul G. Blazer High School, Ashland Honorable Mention
Musical Flower was created using chalk pastels. I chose to include a clarinet in this piece because it stood out to me in the inspirational music. The musical piece I followed was “Tuileries Garden�. I chose this piece because an idea came to my immediately after I heard it. I believe my artwork reflects the mood of the piece because the piece is happy and bouncy and my artwork is very colorful and bright.
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