My Music Mosaic
"Rhubarb Jam" - The Bright Light Social Hour
Artist Statement:
In listening to The Bright Light Social Hour's “Rhubarb Jam,” I was met with a number of feelings, the first two being excitement and enthrallment. This piece never fails to get me up on my feet, wanting to go out and do something absolutely crazy. The song’s perfect cacophony of guitar, bass, organ, and drum provide this sense of controlled chaos to the song, along with this bigger feeling of absurdity and craziness. I really wanted to explore that feeling of absurdity heavily, so I chose to create a more surreal narrative for my music mosaic. I pitted a girl with supernatural powers against a sentient vending machine monster in the hopes that that may come off as unreal enough to match “Rhubarb Jam’s” absurdity.
I also sought to capture that feeling of controlled chaos in my piece in the form of my main character, Violet. Her bunny-onesie may at first describe her as a softer, happier character with a big heart and lovable personality. However, her expressions, body language, and actions describe her as just the opposite—cold, uncaring, hot-tempered, and a bit violent. And her hair strikes a balance between her two sides; while the fact that it’s pink portrays a sense of softness due to the fact that pink is typically associated in our culture with feelings of gentleness and sensitivity, the bright, piercing color nods to her exciting and somewhat-abrasive personality. So, in those ways, her character strongly mirrors the theme of controlled chaos that I felt in “Rhubarb Jam.”
“Rhubarb Jam” is more than just an exciting spitfire of rock and roll; it takes the listener on a journey, especially at the bridge. At the bridge, the song drops off from its exciting guitar shredding into a mellower tune, and when I got to this part I felt some calm within the calamity. To me, the bridge of the song feels like it’s a moment to pause from the song’s war of instruments and take time to reflect, relax, and regain strength for the final hoorah of the song where all instruments will be fired at full force. I knew I had to reflect this important moment of the song within my piece, so I had Violet swallowed by the very beast she seeks to destroyed, plummeting into a void of dull, dark colors, taking time to recollect her strength, reflect on her battle with the Vending Machine Beast, and put on richer, more powerful colors to take on the monster even stronger.
I think my music mosaic, and the project in general, can really support the ideas found in “The Power of Story Found in an Age of Consequence,” especially one of the essay’s bigger ideas that story is about relationship. In the sense that relationships are all about getting to know someone, I feel like my music mosaic is a great way for others to get to know me a bit. It provides quite a few things about how my mind works and how I think, such as the fact that my art tends to be more narrative driven, or the fact that I so often connect music to characters or people, or the fact that I enjoy absurd and even cartoony art. The song that I chose also provides some insight into who I am and what my tastes are. And the attributes I choose to give my characters may provide some degree of knowledge on what kind of attributes I personally value in people. So, in that way, the story that I’ve told in my music mosaic can help to establish a relationship between me and those who view my art.
If I had to think of a specific example of art to compare my music mosaic to, I’d say it reminds me most of storyboards for animated shows. I’d provide a specific example of a show, but it fits well with so many: Danny Phantom, Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, Loud House, ect. It really seems to embody a similar style, in both action and style. And were it to be a motion picture, it really would play out similarly to cartoons—very absurd, odd, and partially nonsensical.
Artist Statement:
In listening to The Bright Light Social Hour's “Rhubarb Jam,” I was met with a number of feelings, the first two being excitement and enthrallment. This piece never fails to get me up on my feet, wanting to go out and do something absolutely crazy. The song’s perfect cacophony of guitar, bass, organ, and drum provide this sense of controlled chaos to the song, along with this bigger feeling of absurdity and craziness. I really wanted to explore that feeling of absurdity heavily, so I chose to create a more surreal narrative for my music mosaic. I pitted a girl with supernatural powers against a sentient vending machine monster in the hopes that that may come off as unreal enough to match “Rhubarb Jam’s” absurdity.
I also sought to capture that feeling of controlled chaos in my piece in the form of my main character, Violet. Her bunny-onesie may at first describe her as a softer, happier character with a big heart and lovable personality. However, her expressions, body language, and actions describe her as just the opposite—cold, uncaring, hot-tempered, and a bit violent. And her hair strikes a balance between her two sides; while the fact that it’s pink portrays a sense of softness due to the fact that pink is typically associated in our culture with feelings of gentleness and sensitivity, the bright, piercing color nods to her exciting and somewhat-abrasive personality. So, in those ways, her character strongly mirrors the theme of controlled chaos that I felt in “Rhubarb Jam.”
“Rhubarb Jam” is more than just an exciting spitfire of rock and roll; it takes the listener on a journey, especially at the bridge. At the bridge, the song drops off from its exciting guitar shredding into a mellower tune, and when I got to this part I felt some calm within the calamity. To me, the bridge of the song feels like it’s a moment to pause from the song’s war of instruments and take time to reflect, relax, and regain strength for the final hoorah of the song where all instruments will be fired at full force. I knew I had to reflect this important moment of the song within my piece, so I had Violet swallowed by the very beast she seeks to destroyed, plummeting into a void of dull, dark colors, taking time to recollect her strength, reflect on her battle with the Vending Machine Beast, and put on richer, more powerful colors to take on the monster even stronger.
I think my music mosaic, and the project in general, can really support the ideas found in “The Power of Story Found in an Age of Consequence,” especially one of the essay’s bigger ideas that story is about relationship. In the sense that relationships are all about getting to know someone, I feel like my music mosaic is a great way for others to get to know me a bit. It provides quite a few things about how my mind works and how I think, such as the fact that my art tends to be more narrative driven, or the fact that I so often connect music to characters or people, or the fact that I enjoy absurd and even cartoony art. The song that I chose also provides some insight into who I am and what my tastes are. And the attributes I choose to give my characters may provide some degree of knowledge on what kind of attributes I personally value in people. So, in that way, the story that I’ve told in my music mosaic can help to establish a relationship between me and those who view my art.
If I had to think of a specific example of art to compare my music mosaic to, I’d say it reminds me most of storyboards for animated shows. I’d provide a specific example of a show, but it fits well with so many: Danny Phantom, Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, Loud House, ect. It really seems to embody a similar style, in both action and style. And were it to be a motion picture, it really would play out similarly to cartoons—very absurd, odd, and partially nonsensical.
Comments
Post a Comment