Of Sight and Sound

Works from "Chromatic Variations of a Theme of Glenn Gould" By Barry Cleavin. Nov. 2008 Ajr

As the late Canadian pianist, Glenn Gould’s fingers “fluttered, meandered and scurried across the black and white keys, emerging from the instrument like a story being narrated, just to him, for the very first time,” so too, have Christchurch printmaker, Barry Cleavin’s fingers scampered and darted across zinc etching plates, re-interpreting Gould’s musical creations as ‘tiny visual filaments of sound.’ It was always going to be a big ask, for surely it is impossible to represent sound in visual markings? But Cleavin is passionate about music – about Bach and the work of Glenn Gould. He listens to both as he works in his Christchurch studio and in his current exhibition at Papergraphica, he shows the etchings and aquatints that were inspired by “Extasis, Life and Times” and “The Russian Journey,” two DVDs that show archival footage of Glenn Gould playing, recording and being interviewed. There is a beguiling intimacy about Cleavin’s visual responses – layer upon layer of observation. I especially like the fact that he has included two of the original zinc plates that allude to the evolution of the colour-ways and overlays – and, best of all, act as a reflective mirror for the completed works in colour that hang in Papergraphica for another week. www.papergraphica.co.nz

Interpreting the Interpretations

TOP: "The Interview" Etching/Aquatint Barry Cleavin 2008.

BOTTOM: "Invention 2" Etching/Aquatint Barry Cleavin 2008.

I was going to wax lyrical about Christchurch printmaker, Barry Cleavin’s latest exhibition, due to open at Papergraphica in Christchurch on November 17th. It’s a collection of 42 new etchings/aquatints – all but one in colour – entitled CHROMATIC VARIATIONS ON A THEME OF GLENN GOULD.’ Half of the works in the exhibition are ‘unique impressions’ – that is ‘one offs’. The editioned works (limited to 12 impressions from a plate) are printed in Ultramarine Blue – “as befits the mostly Baroque aspect of things,” says Barry. And now, instead of rabbiting on, I’m going to let Barry speak for himself about the show: “Over years of ‘listening,’ as different from ‘looking,’ I have been accompanied by music as I work. Glenn Gould explored one theme in a multitude of ways using the most fundamental techniques in musical composition – variation. He worked as a pianist, writer, critic, media artist, and conductor. He died aged fifty. He was very differently-abled. I accumulated an archive of visual information to work from that was relevant to my needs and parallel to the sounds that I had been listening to for so many years. I visually sought to align the images with the music – interpreting the interpretations if you like. Visual Variations on Aural Variations. So. Gould interpreted Bach and I interpreted Bach and Gould in my idiom. Thus, Bach’s Chromatic Fantasy in D Minor ( which incidentally Gould considered to be imperfect, as he did Beethoven’s ‘Appassionata’) is reinterpreted by me in October 2008 using Gould himself as a visual point around which to impose colour overlays ( chromatic variations), as had been suggested to me via the recording made on October 11, 1979. There is implicit in this event homage to Glenn Gould.” The Papergraphica show runs from November 17 to December 6.

Artist Studios - 10

Marian Maguire, Papergraphica. August 2008. Ajr

I love limited edition prints – etchings and lithographs in particular – so I was in my element yesterday when I visited Christchurch printmaker, Marian Maguire at her collaborative printmakers’ studio, Papergraphica. Marian, who works as both etcher and lithographer, is currently “going through a reading phase” as she works towards her next series of works. Tucked into her own small drawing studio behind the Papergraphica gallery, she combs her collection of second-hand history books in search of the next artistic trigger. “Most of my work is narrative, so reading is important to me,” she says as she leafs through an old edition of “The White Chief,” by John Rutherford. Since 1997 much of her work has been related to Greek vase painting and working mythological narratives into a New Zealand context. Her most recent series introduced Herakles as a New Zealand pioneer and you can see a number of these gorgeous works on the Papergraphica website – http://www.papergraphica.co.nz/ – and one of my favourites, in the below post.

The Meeting of Cultures

"The Labours of Herakles."

2007/8 Lithograph by Marian Macguire.

Image & Paper size 570x765mm

From an edition of 25.

Image courtesy of Artist.