Monday, January 14, 2013

Putting Andrew Wyeth into Pictures, Words, and Music


When composer Van Stiefel realized that he wanted to somehow set the paintings of Andrew Wyeth to music, he searched for the words to marry to his expressions in sound. Fortunately, he found David Livewell’s Woven Light: Poems and Photographs of Andrew Wyeth's Pennsylvania, a set of poetry about Wyeth’s art that the artist himself called “powerful” and “deeply moving” before his death in 2009. This marriage of pictures, words, and music enjoyed its world premiere on January 12th. Stiefel’s Wyeth Songs redefines the idea of multimedia, snatching it back from modern technology and reclaiming it for the old school ideas of community, tradition, and love. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Putting Andrew Wyeth into Pictures, Words, and Music."


[Image: Barry Moser. Andrew Wyeth (relief engraving). Illustration for poster for Wyeth Songs concert.]
[Many thanks to David Livewell for providing me with copies of Woven Light: Poems and Photographs of Andrew Wyeth's Pennsylvania and Shackamaxon as well as many enlightening conversations about the project. Many thanks also to Barry Moser for allowing me to use the image above.]
[Full Disclosure: David Livewell is a personal friend of the author.]

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