Importance of Music (Chris NUnn)

This limestone depicts three musicians performing a song and dance. The two people on the outside are dancing and holding small instruments while, the person in the middle is playing a flute. The ancient artist(s) must have considered musical expression as an important aspect to highlight for this art or record.

The Anne Boleyn Book page on displays two interesting additions to the music sheet. The upper half has beautifully drawn flower while the lower half shows a white falcon. The page in it self could be considered a work of art that helps play music, it captures a an older style of music notation, and the pictures have personal familial meaning that is likely attributed to the Boleyn Family. Royal College of Music -Description and More Details: Retrieved From https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/asset-viewer/the-anne-boleyn-book/3QHwlUUmfZ8P3A?projectId=art-project&hl=en

The Saint Cecilia Playing the Organ painting shows Cecilia the Patron Saint of Music playing an organ and surrounded by angelic beings. This painting not only captures Baroque qualities of realistic depictions of human anatomy but also the importance of music in religion. The idea of having a patron saint specifically for music is strong indicator of its importance.

This 18th century painting of Wolfgang and his father Leopold Mozart practicing music together. The serious looks on their faces indicate a possible time of practice or instruction rather than playing for fun. This painting not only tributes a significant musician in world history but it also speaks to the use of music in fathers teaching their sons or children important lessons that will effect their lives in the future.

Music and Dance Teacher is a Korean painting that depicts an adult teacher instructing two youthful students as he plays a drum. There appears to be a male and female student sitting before their teacher intently receiving instruction. This painting possibly highlights the importance of music in fostering the development of community and preservation of culture.

This photo depicts a glass harmonica, which is a stack of glasswork “bowls” that is tuned to match the pitch of a piano key layout. As it spins, the player wets the glass and their fingers with water and glides them across the spinning glass, producing musical tones. While glass instruments were not new, Benjamin Franklin invented this configuration. This eloquently crafted instrument not only served to play music but was also an American export that was widely used in Europe for a period of time. Information of Benjamin Franklin and the glass harmonica Retrieved from http://www.glassarmonica.com/

The “Guitar and Newspaper” painting is an abstract that uses block-like shaping and strait to take commonly known thinks like a guitar and newspaper to personify the passions or identity of the artist. The painting ties the importance of music in communication or sharing information and ties it into the importance of a newspaper’s function of communicating.

The German Music Box painting depicts a wooden music box with what looks like a spinning table with people dancing and over watch or chaperone. There is also a tree in the background. While an American may have designed it, its title implies design influence or inspiration from Germany. This product depicted in the painting shows the influence other countries have had on U.S. music and musical artistic technology.

The Freedom Song is a black and white photo from 1963 of a multiracial group of actors and signers protesting apartheid at a rally in London. Music has always been used to overtly or underhandedly make political statements either in support or in opposition to a political situation. Sometimes the songs created or sung during a political movement outlive the writers and artists and act as a record of how some people felt about a subject.

The “Recording Studio” depicts the Philharmonic recording studio. Lines and shapes are designed to not only look cosmetically eloquent but each line and angle has a sonic purpose of controlling the acoustics in the room. It’s art to the eye and ears. The furniture, lighting, acoustic panels on the wall all look sterile and static. But, small lights on the large control board, computer screens, and note pads all speak to activity. This photo represents music in today’s world. Anything is possible and concepts of how this all works is universal to the pro-audio community around the world. This is where Mozart would probably spend a lot of time if he were alive today. There would be very few instances where music didn’t play some part in the use of a facility like this.