DE SCHILPONIST (THE PAINTPOSER)

Composers and painters have something in common. They both "compose," only each in their own way with their own tools. Compare them:

Composers compose music. They play with sound and silence, with notes and chords, with rhythm, repetition, with fast and slow, with loud and soft, with flowing or sudden transitions, with harmony or dissonance, staccato or legato. Sometimes they incorporate words into a song. Composers work with notes on a staff and music signs on the clef. Composers speak through the ear.

Painters compose images. They play with color or black and white, with rhythm, repetition, with light and dark, with thick and thin, with planes or lines, with round or angular, with sharp or blurred, with realistic or abstract. Sometimes they incorporate letters into their composition. Painters work with brush and paint on canvas. Painters speak through the eye.

Some composers have composed music after seeing a painting, and some painters have created paintings based on listening to music.

Assignment: Choose a piece of music you like. During the workshop, try to visualize the composition (without hearing it) using the painter's tools. After the lesson, we'll discuss each painting in turn. We'll guess what kind of music the painter depicted. Then, a short piece of the accompanying music will be played. You can take your (dry) painting home with you.