Abstract

My main inspiration for my work is music. I convey the idea of music in a physical and conceptual way. The way I represent music in my work is through Collage, Silhouettes, and Abstract Shapes. The main elements that I use can be found in album art, musicians and musical notation. Music has been a huge influence on my life. I want to share that influence and bring people together through my work. Music creates connections with anybody and can bridge different cultures together.

One way to document music is using the staff. The basic staff uses five lines and the four spaces in between. Using the staff you can create simple to complex melodies, with endless possibilities. My intention is to physically illustrate those possibilities. I am exploring the linear design that harnesses the same expressive play that music instills. I manipulate, add color, subtract and add lines. These visual black and white pieces symbolize the infinite variations in the same way that its audial relative encompasses.

Musicians, they are seen as icons, and can also be seen as greater than ordinary people. We sometimes worship them and put them on pedestals. What happens when we hide their image? Will you still be able to recognize the musicians? In these works, I am taking famous musicians and only showing the silhouettes versions of them. My intention is to strip the cultural construct of celebrity away, leaving only their form. I want to show how powerful their image can be. Can you guess who is who?

Alex Steinweiss was the first to create the album cover art in 1938. This changed the way we see and buy music. Album covers is the first thing we see when purchasing music; it's what draws us in. I am taking the idea of album covers and re-imaging them. I am using some of my favorite musicians and their album covers to create something new. The technique of collage, allows me to re-invent old album covers. As in music, songs can be re-mastered and or re-mixed. I am using the idea of re-mixing songs and applying that concept to album cover to create something contemporary. The possibilities are endless with all the different albums out there.

Advisor

Brian Frink

Committee Member

Amy Toscani

Committee Member

Brandon Cooke

Date of Degree

2018

Language

english

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

College

Arts and Humanities

Recommended Citation

Lenzen, K. (2018). Augmentation of Music [Master’s thesis, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/780/