art loves music

He has Van Gogh's ear for music.

Yesterday I stumbled upon the above quote by Billy Wilder. I laughed, of course, but I was also aware of the coincidence of finding this at a time when my visual art explorations are all about music, probably ignited by my need to draw Stephen Fearing's guitar. Right now I have three abandoned paintings lying around my studio, all works that must be finished within an actual timeline, while I continue to noodle away with guitars as subject matter (while listening to Stephen's music) ~ and have the experimental panels to prove it. Or, as Joe Jackson (a musician of course -- it's all about synchronicity) would say, "the half-finished drivel I'd worked on for days." Gotta follow where the muse leads no matter where he wanders I guess. Turn left before the outhouse please.

Anyway, so I wasn't surprised when Rudy (who does more for this blog than I do these days) forwarded me this amazing article. It's all about the link between a neurodegenerative condition called primary progressive aphasia and creativity, but I also couldn't help noticing yet another link between art and music. The artist who painted the above painting suffered from this condition while working on it:

It is called Unravelling Boléro, by Canadian artist Anne Adams, and is a bar-by-bar representation of the popular classical piece Boléro by Maurice Ravel ... And here's the jaw-dropper: Ravel is thought to have suffered from the same condition, which may have drawn him towards repetitive patterns such as the themes that cycle through Boléro. Adams was unaware of this, and of her own condition, while working on her painting.

Who knew there could be benefits to brain tumours? Seriously, though, I'm fascinated when scientists uncover links between neurology and creativity. I also wonder if my own use of pattern, movement and composition links to my passion for music (and not to a neurological disease...).