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During the creation of Color Changes, one thing I reflected on was the wonderful series of paintings of the Rouen Cathedral by Monet, a number of which can be viewed at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. In my mind, these paintings represent a perfect intersection of color and light, with the cathedral serving as the form or structure through which this intersection is expressed. Artists in later years would often eliminate the need for structure within their scope of their expression, and just focus on abstract painting - color, light, and their intersection.
To change contexts a bit, I believe a parallel phenomenon has occurred when one looks at the history of jazz. For example, a bebop musician like Charlie Parker would build harmonic and rhythmic structures on top of chord changes. Chord changes were/are the structures upon which bebop jazz improvisations get expressed. Then some 10 to 20 years later, Ornette Coleman or John Coltrane would eliminate these chord progressions (structures) all together, and focus on abstract harmonic tonalities and rhythmic elements that would find full expression without the need for these musical (chord) structures.
In reflecting back at the work Color Changes, I think there might have been a subconscious reference to these musical chord structures, as mentioned. When one looks at this piece, notice how the 3 colors interact. The violet color transitions to the turquoise color. Turquoise then transitions to the peach color which is the background color upon which these two other colors “sit”. These 3 colors might reference the II, V, I progression that serves as the foundation for most jazz improvisations. The title of this piece, Color Changes, was chosen based upon this awareness.
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