An alive studio
Art and music building together
Visual artists often get asked about what they listen to while working in the studio and to me, it’s a phenomenon that comes from the Abstract Expressionism movement of last century. Most notably, jazz and the improvisational nature of Ab Ex were perfect bedfellows and some Ab Ex painters cited jazz as heavily influencing their works, like Norman Lewis and Jackson Pollack.
Music has always been a part of my life, mostly as an appreciator. I got no further than trying to learn to play the clarinet in grade school. Failed miserably at that, but visual art grabbed me soon after, thankfully. I remember getting hooked on how music and visual art can compliment each other while in college. I had one painting professor in particular who further expanded my already wide ranging musical taste. In my own studio(s), music is almost always a constant companion. Currently, music is part of the studio triumvirate of music, podcasts and silence, depending on my mood.
One experience I’ve been fortunate to have over the past several years is that of being a participating artist in the mostly yearly Tiny Room For Elephants (TRFE) events. TRFE started as a yearly invitational, underground event that inhabited empty warehouses in North Philly back in 2014. The organizers would set up shop in a warehouse, build a “room” out of large sheets of plywood and have artists paint mural sized pieces. Most of the artists then were graffiti and street artists, but over time muralists and studio artists such as myself also participated.
Above: a small bit of what Tiny Room For Elephants was in 2022
Now, what made TRFE really special is that it wasn’t just a visual artist event; it also included musicians, djs and producers. There was a ten-day window to finish artwork which culminated in a weekend art and music festival. I participated in TRFE in 2019 and 2022. The pandemic prevented it from being held in ‘20 and ‘21.
The music part was interesting because the djs and producers would spin and mix music live as the artist made their work. So there was this cross-pollination happening between the aural and visual that was really unique. I remember one instance the TRFE festival of 2019 where I was working late at night on my piece and a dj was making beats live. You could hear the process happening as they worked on the same piece in different ways over about a 90 minute period. The experience fell in sync with what I was doing as most of my work is largely improvised, with no clear plan of what something will look like until it happens.
That experience stuck with me and in early 2023, I had the idea of recreating part of the TRFE experience in my studio. It took me a while to figure out how such a thing would work considering that most of the time, no one else is around in my space when I’m working. If I’m working outside on a mural or other project, I make allowances for that psychologically. In my own studio space, it’s a little different. Having other people around while I’m working here is a big distraction, usually.
For my experiment, I was in a completely different head space. I like a lot of electronically and digitally-based music and thought it might be interested to invite a couple of the people that I knew from TRFE to go in with me on one-day music and art making “residencies” in my studio. Thankfully, I have the space where there can be some distance between myself and the musicians. The idea was that they’d spend their time in my studio making pieces from scratch while I worked on my own things.
Martronimous
First up, in February 2023, was Martronimous (they/them), a West Philly-based trumpet player and producer. When I contacted them, Martronimous was really into the idea and the timing was good because they had a composition that they were trying to work out. On the day of our experiment, they came in, set up and we both got to work. I was in a head space where I was making a ton of collage-based works on paper, so them working out their own composition fit in perfectly with what I was attempting to do. IG: Martronimous
Johann Sebastian
When I thought of this idea, I was considering making it a monthly thing, so for March 2023, I invited Johann Sebastian into the studio. Johann Sebastian (@js_beats), is a Philly-based producer whose multiple talents include being an audio engineer, musician, photographer and videographer.
As much as I liked how this turned out, I haven’t repeated the experience because all sorts of things have happened since then. I got busy with projects and life stuff that took up most of my time and headspace. There’s a possibility that something like this could happen again, but it may have just been a product of that particular moment and I’m glad I acted on it.
New work
Last Friday, I finished my first larger painting of the year. I painted over another work that sat for almost a year without me going back to it, so it was past time to repurpose the canvas. I’m glad that I did. I tried some new things with this one and I think it worked out pretty well. Now, I need to get some materials for more paintings in this vein so I can figure out where else I can push this idea of having one form inhabiting the painting space. Add to that them being fairly monochromatic.
This piece is still untitled, but as usual, that’s a temporary condition. Otherwise, it’s acrylic on canvas and measures 54” x 36” (137.16 x 91.44cm)
Here’s some Paper Whites for you. The fragrance can be strong, but it’s nice coming downstairs in the dead of winter and experiencing their aroma.
It’s already been a crazy week in the country and around the world as the new federal administration takes over. I think we’re in for a long period of struggle to keep our country, rights and lives intact. It feels overwhelming and a lot of it is. My hope is that despite everything being thrown at us, that we’re able to still ourselves long enough to rest, be good to ourselves our families, friends and others and be a source of light for someone, in whatever way possible.
get out in nature
get together with friends
go do that thing you’ve been wanting to do
house parties, bowling, book clubs…
hikes, swims, runs, cycling, etc…
take more time away from social media
get the news, but dump the pundits and opinions
make art in whatever form makes you happy. it’s always the time to explore what brings you pleasure, as long as no one else is being hurt
scroll less, read more,
deep breaths
express gratitude for what and who you have
express your love and joy, we need more of that
don’t be afraid to grieve and be angry because that opens the way for other feelings and frees up emotional avenues to be able to reach out and help others
None of us are perfect, but we can make a difference even if we don’t see the results right away. The future depends on it.
Thanks for being here, take care of yourselves and I’ll see you soon.
TRFE sounds like a really cool idea. I'm a writer and most of the time I can't write without music. Don't know how I would live without it tbh.
This is so great