Music

Composition 8 July 1923
Vasily Kandinsky
55 1/8 x 79 1/8 inches
Image: Guggenheim.org 37.262

My choice of Kandinsky today stems from a head full of music. Hmm... what artist could I choose to represent my musical thoughts? Well, Kandinsky of course! If you are not familiar with Kandinsky's work, though many are due to his place at the forefront of modern abstraction and his incredibly popular colorful compositions, his work not only stems from his own musical background but the paintings themselves exude a wonderful musicality. My search for a specific work for today actually introduced me to a lot of work by Kandinsky I was unaware of. He underwent very specific changes over the years of his career, shifting from elements of more direct representation to variations on geometry. The composition in the upper right hand corner

This painting, Composition, a take on both the composition of music as well as painting, the lines and forms can be seen and heard as musical elements. This can be viewed resembles a musical staff. One's eyes initially dart around a Kandinsky painting but then settle in various areas, experiencing something new wherever their gaze falls. The thin dran lines aid in navigating the painting as a whole. The concentration of color and line can allude to differentiations in tone in music. "Kandinsky's use of color is Kandinsky, himself an accomplished musician, once said Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul. The concept that color and musical harmony are linked has a long history, intriguing scientists such as Sir Isaac Newton. Kandinsky used color in a highly theoretical way associating tone with timbre (the sound's character), hue with pitch, and saturation with the volume of sound. He even claimed that when he saw color he heard music." (webmuseum)

Spend some time with the next Kandinsky you come across, its a dual cultural experience.

Light Tunnel

Light Tunnel
The Smith Group - Architect
Mills/James Productions
Victor Alexeef - Composer
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport


Pedestrian tunnel connecting concourses at the DTW airport. I can't find much written about the tunnel, garnering a little bit of information from a blog about light (Jim on Light) which is might be a fascinating topic for a blog as is. Most people refer to this as the "psychedelic tunnel". The music is cheesy but fits the space well. From the unlimited number of blog posts I've found about the tunnel most people think it's great. I have to admit by thinking it was pretty cool on my first trip through it, especially because it is a particularly long tunnel and makes the trip through a bit more interesting. I am willing to bet though if you are not feeling awesome (which surely is the case for many before or after a plane flight) this installation may not be a welcome bit of art.

The blue image to the right is a close up of the wall if I remember correctly from my trips through the tunnel. An even greater set of photos can be found here
Second Image: Thierry Guertin

The circular end of the tunnel never ceases to make me feel as if I might be beamed up at any second. After spending some time looking at photos, I think the tunnel has provided some people with awesome potential photography. Some of the shots are just fantastic.

1st and 3rd photo from:
Great set of photos on flickr

A google search for "detroit aiport light tunnel" will come up with an unending array of videos and photos.