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compulsory connection and continual challenge

All That Jazz - digital painting / art prints - 2006 - Dan Beck

I happened upon an article today - actually it happened upon me by having ages ago signed up for related stories at googlealert.com.

The story is about how it isn’t enough to be a good musician, one must make oneself heard - creating or developing venues as necessary.

Art is no different I think - it is not enough just to create wonderful art - it must be viewed. By its very nature, all art requires an audience; and even the artist as audience, though sometimes sufficient, views in the context of his own culture.

But having said all that it doesn’t make it easier for an artist to both have to pioneer with his art and with creating his own audience - they are sadly not always compatible.

See Also

• All That Jazz
  art print options for above digital painting
• Cecil Bridgewater: Where to Create Music
  musicians needing to create venue and audience - nothing has changed
• Relationship 2.0: Build Your Audience and Create Fans at Business Performance Coaching
  mostly about creating an internet audience but connected I think

jazz painting - better heard, not seen

Vertical Jazz - digital painting /art prints - Dan Beck -2006

I had intended on entering this piece in a local competition for jazz art that is going on this week in an anticipation of the Monterey Jazz Festival.

But I didn’t pay close attention to the date it needed to be dropped off and such is life - another missed deadline - and another "what if" I don’t need to really trouble myself over. It wasn’t really that important or I would have made certain. 

But - since I can’t share it in Seaside - I figured I would post it again today and maybe share it that way.  And perhaps some other time in a different show - I will set it up to be seen…

or better yet heard.

See Also

• Jazz 1
  Last year’s entry in Jazz Art Competition
• 49th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival Presented by Verizon
  Info about this year’s upcoming festival

image searches indicate piece should be featured

Jazz 1 - Digital Painting and Art Prints - 2005 - Dan Beck

People who don’t own a website probably don’t realize that there are statistics available as to what site referred a visitor or what search engine and even what was being searched for.

I have recently noticed a large number of people coming to my site based on one of a number of Google image searches showing this piece.

Unfortunately, Google refers image searchers to the main page of the site and the original article was written in November and not easily found.

So I have done a couple of new pieces along this line All that Jazz and Vertical Jazz - to try to put some kind of music and art connection that is current.

The above piece was the first piece like this I did and I have to say it has stood up well since I created it. I have an an art print of it framed and matted above my piano.

See Also

• Jazz 1
  Purchasing options for Art Prints of Jazz 1
• Principles of Art and Music
  Middle school lesson idea on the connection between art and music
• TeacherArtExchange (Education at the Getty) - Re: [teacherartexchange] Art/Music Connection
  Another commentary on the connection that some people see

Communication, Improvisation, Uncharted Territory

View Flipped Out Jazz - Digital Painting - 2005 

Like my first attempt at portraying jazz (Jazz 1)in a visual medium, I used the obvious references to jazz instruments, sun glass coolness, and fingers and strings.

What I did in this piece which is actually a bit more jazz-like is that I went somewhere with the piece I had never explored before. I landed upon some uncharted territory which is the ultimate in improvisation.

Jazz pianist McCoy Tyner is quoted in the Telegraph Arts  "I can’t predict the directions my music will go. For me, all music is a journey of the soul into new, uncharted territory." Whether that comes through in the above piece without having said so is probably no more clear than whether a listener will recognize new musical space.

Part of my hope in portraying jazz was to touch on the type of communication used by musicians. The instrument clues provide a starting point for conversation, but there is an energy of play found clearly as well.  The final thing which was new to me and the uncharted territory in this case, was to let the computer flip over and/or reverse certain sections of the piece - thus the name Flipped Out Jazz.

See Also

• CSMonitor.com - In jazz as in life - err on side of adventure
  Lesson in communication of musicians and people
• PBS - Jazz Exchange - Recording Ban
  A bit of Jazz history - recording ban and “uncharted” bebop
• Telegraph: Young Turks and old revolutionaries stir up London’s jazz festival
  Preview of London Jazz Festival - quotes McCoy Tyner
• PBS - Profile of McCoy Tyner
  History and some music