From the beginning, I was drawn to abstraction. It was the artistic idiom of my time - seemed to make the broadest philosophical statement and I loved the aesthetics. Since Jazz, too, was the music of my generation and was energized by the same emotional stimulus as abstract painting. It was no coincidence that I would at some point want to synthesize the shared experience of the two art forms.
Jazz has become an integral part of my work, and using it as a metaphor allows me to tap into its deep reservoir of feeling. Using color and calligraphy as vehicles, I begin my search for the essence of the music and what lies beyond. The music's earthiness and vitality derives from it's roots, and the improvisational reach for beauty of such Jazz artists as Lester Young, Johnny Hodges and Sidney Bechet inspires me to explore with visual means the same essential quality.
Initially, these musical stories provide the impetus for my work, but gradually as the painting takes on a life of it's own, I find myself reaching beyond the music, using it only as a lens to bring something more mysterious, primal and unknown into focus. |
A Foggy Day
Digital ink jet (IRIS) on etching paper
35x32 inches |
