In this workshop we will explore the concept of inspiration, that initial creative and connective impulse which is then tempered and channeled by the craft of the artist into a finished work.   Looking first at some of the music-inspired paintings of the Bauhaus artist Paul Klee, workshop participants will then compose music inspired by Klee’s paintings, and perform their compositions using instruments that they have built themselves from recycled materials.

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Klee and Inspiration:  As a young man, Paul Klee had to make a life choice: Music? or Painting?  Coming from a musical family, and already an excellent violinist himself, he could have very easily made a living as a musician. Although he finally chose a life in painting, Klee found inspiration from music throughout his career.  Looking at his paintings, one can often find overt connections to the basic elements of music – rhythm, melody, harmony and form.

 

The workshop begins with a digital slide presentation in which participants explore Klee’s connections to music.  During the presentation the focus begins to shift from how Klee was inspired by music to how we as musicians can be inspired by Klee’s paintings, and how to find specific compositional source material within the structure of the paintings.

 

Following is a quick and fun demonstration on the science of musical instruments, and how to build them from simple recycled and reused materials.  Participants then build a variety of instruments to use as sound-source material to perform their Klee-inspired compositions.  In addition, Bertles demonstrates some concepts of simple graphic “invented notation” that can be used in the composing process.

 

In a break-out session, the workshop forms composing groups.  Each group is given a reproduction of a Klee painting and chart paper.  The groups examine the painting for elements that will help inspire melodic, rhythmic and harmonic nuggets that can be expanded into a simple musical piece, and writes their notation ideas on the chart paper.  It is important to note that we are no longer considering what Klee would have wanted, but rather that we are now using Klee’s work as a springboard for our  own inspiration.

 

Finally each group performs their composition for the rest of the participants and discusses how the painting informed and shaped their musical material.

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The workshop culminates in a demonstration of the circular nature of art and creativity.  In the process of writing down their musical compositions, the composing groups use invented graphic musical notation.  Very often the final result of the composing groups notation efforts have an uncanny resemblance to Klee’s paintings, a moment which further underscores the nature of artistic inspiration.