Play That Funky Music !

Information

Play That Funky Music !

Exhibition Date May 1 - June 1, 2014

You hear a piece of music and it sends you back in time. Suddenly you remember situations, sights, smells, and certain people as if it happened yesterday.


What is the relationship between music and craft? Are there craft pieces that relate to favorite songs?

How about a vase made while listening to opera? A table inspired by hard rock? Footwear to go with Lady Gaga? What are the lyrics that draw you in and inspire you to create?

Location: crafthaus online
Members: 25
Latest Activity: Apr 29, 2015

ALICE SIMPSON

“When you listen to the music, follow the steps, and feel its bliss,

you are led to a magical place.

Beginning in 1992 with an artist book,

everything I have made since

has led to the publication of my first novel, BALLROOM

(Harper, HarperCollins - 2014).”

DIRTY DANCING - Artist book and Ceramic Teapot

SONG: “(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life” 

(Franke Previte, John DeNicola, and Donald Markowitz)


YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUoDaCH1MJM‎

Limited edition of two hand painted copies
10” x 10” x 45”
Accordion book with hand painted, die cut figures

alice@alicesimpson.com
www.alicesimpson.com

France Richards

"Ring for Two",

cast bronze alloy,

7cm x 2 cm,

photo credits: France Richards

It's rare to see a ring that can only be worn by two people. During the making of "Ring for Two", I was profoundly inspired by the love I have for my fiance, and the moments we share dancing in the kitchen to the album "Today, Tomorrow, and Forever" released by Patsy Cline in 1963.

"Ring for Two" is a piece cast from the mould of two hands holding a type of wax that imprints the individual fingerprints of the couple. The result is a ring that can only be held by the two people whose hands it was cast from in order for it to fit perfectly. It can be subtly noticed by those paying close attention to the love of the people surrounding them.


Youtube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITzWtwTj-Vg

Dauvit Alexander - The Justified Sinner

"Cold Genius"

Original song: Henry Purcell
Video: http://youtu.be/ARyq4V3Pw_c

Media - Found, corroded iron sheet; stove-enamelled white steel sheet from a discarded fridge; sterling silver; fine silver; pure iron sheet; high-fired porcelain figure of "Cold Genius" by Lisa Stevens; digital copy in camel-bone of a Victorian bog-oak hand-shaped brooch; diamonds; blue topaz; raw aquamarine crystal; unfired enamel frit; quartz; iolite, sapphire.

Measurements - Box size, 180mm x 60mm x 35mm; chain length 1000mm; removable "Cold Genius" Brooch, 55mm x 24mm x 15mm

Website - http://www.justified-sinner.com

Photo Credit - Andrew Neilson, Neilson Photography


Statement: Purcell has always been a favourite composer with me. There is something very pure and true about his music and he was a man ahead of his time. "The Song of Cold Genius" is an aria from his opera, "King Arthur" and in this scene, the "Cold Genius", a spirit of winter, is awoken to spread his frost over the landscape. The music is startlingly modern, moving inexorably upwards to the pulse of a human heartbeat and I became fixated on this song, listening to it on endless repeat as I tried to work out how to make a piece based on it. The result is a tiny theatre, staging the work, the Cold Genius himself lying below the ice, the finger of Venus coming down to awaken him... I loved making this piece as much as I love the original music and it was a pleasure to challenge myself in making it. Every single snowflake that I designed and hand-cut was different!

Jen Townsend

"The Queen of the Night"

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxxKYTG7HGA&feature=relmfu

Materials: Sterling Silver, Diamonds, 14K White Gold
Dimensions: 12” x 6.5” x 1.25”
Date: 2010
Photos: Hank Henry
Website: jentownsend.com

Music: Version of the aria in my video is performed by James Levine and the Wiener Philharmoniker and is sung by Zdislawa Donat


The Queen of the Night’s aria from The Magic Flute never fails to give me chills.  I love that Mozart wrote such a gorgeous piece of music for a femme fatale.  This character is beautiful and powerful, yet so deeply flawed she squanders her relationships and position.  The femme fatale archetype has been a common theme in my work. Beauty, manipulation, power, flaws and seduction create an interesting mix in jewelry.  An acknowledgement of the power of femininity along with its dangers, temptations and potential consequences, this necklace is a cautionary tale.
The piece is cast and fabricated in sterling silver. There is a small crescent moon on her crown, a colony of bats hanging from her skirt and diamond “stars” in the night sky. 

Rebecca Rose

"Embittering"

Inspired by: "Is That All There Is?" - Peggy Lee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe9kKf7SHco

Inspired by: "Is That All There Is?" - PJ Harvey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0ZUAorP0b4

"Embittering"
2.95 troy oz/ 105 grams
Cast .925 Sterling Silver
2.75” x 1.25” x 1”
Unique 1/1
2014

Photo Credit: Rebecca Rose
Website: www.sculpturings.com

Artist Statement:

"Embittering" is inspired by the Leiber and Stoller song

"Is That All There Is?"

Many versions of the song exist, each one uplifting and melancholy in their own way. The slightly off beat trumpets wailing in a minor key as Peggy Lee sings it, PJ Harvey's unimpressed tone of disillusionment sung over the chinsey vibrato of a pipe organ, the waltzy shmaltzy strings with Tony Bennett. Each version oozes existential nihilism, and yet also provides a freeing release of emotions from worldly obligations or responsibilities, enough to just screw it and have a ball.

"Embittering" encompasses literal symbols of the song: dancing bears, rubble and flames of a fire, a tombstone for that final disappointment. The title is one to leave a bad taste in the mouth, not an overwhelmingly bad taste, but going through any sort of loss and tragedy in life can naturally leave behind the residue of resent.

On the return flight home after my mom died, I found myself stuck overnight in the Dallas airport after being bumped from an overbooked flight. Tears running down my red puffy face, I clutched the death certificate and cremation papers wrapped around the porcelain butterfly urn containing my mom's ashes, sat on a patch of stained carpet hunched over, and commanded myself not to sleep through the night, afraid I might miss the first flight out the next morning.

For the following 6 hours, I listened to P.J. Harvey's version of "Is That All There Is?" from the Basquiat soundtrack.

Video Discussion of "Embittering":
Segment from "An Evening With Rebecca Rose" Artist Talk hosted at Snap! Space Gallery, January 2014 in Orlando, FL
Video Credits: c/o Rebecca Rose & Patrick Kahn


http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/79910913/Video%20-%20Crafthaus%20Embittering%20Artist%20Talk%20Rebecca%20Rose.mp4

Linda Savineau

SPACESHIP-SUBMARINE-PIGGYBANK

- steel, aluminum, zink, plexiglass
- 29” x 14”x14”

L.Savineau - music: “Star Wars”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxLacN2Dp6A

Some time ago I got a commission to make a “Spaceship-submarine- piggybank”.


Not a simple task ! After extensive research in scientific books, the NASA archives, Jules Verne’s manuscripts and other equally interesting science fiction works, I finally came up with several designs and sketches. But how to choose the best one? I thought some good music would help me. The first thing that sprang to my mind was “STAR WARS”. And the magic worked !

Louise Perrone
Satin Sheets


2014
Thrift store satin sheets, styrene, nylon thread.
12 x 12 x 1/8”
photo credit: JJ Mestinsek

Artist Statement
As a jewellery artist working in textiles I was struck initially by the title, but it was the video of Jeanne Pruette singing Satin Sheets on That Good Ole Nashville Music  in 1973 (wearing a dress whose collar could almost be mistaken as an art jewellery necklace) that drew me to use this song as the inspiration for my piece. The uneasiness of Pruette’s emotionless face throughout the video and her detachment from the lyrics is unsurprising when we learn that the song was written by someone else. Factory worker John Volinkaty wrote this, his first song, in thirty minutes after coming up with the idea while grocery shopping in a Minneapolis supermarket.
The song presents a constructed a persona who expresses her dissatisfaction with her relationship, despite the material possessions it brings her. Rather than remaining in her unhappy situation, she has found a better alternative and asks for permission to be set free.
My necklace Satin Sheets also presents a constructed persona - a woman who has created a chain around her own neck.  It comments on the value we place in certain materials, and our ability to transform that value through hand-work.

SATIN SHEETS
Recorded by Jeanne Pruett
Words and music by John Volinkaty

CHORUS
[D] Satin Sheets to lie on
[G] Satin pillows to cry on
[D] Still I'm not happy don't you [A7] see
[D] Big long Cadillacs [G] tailor mades upon my back
[D] Still I want [A7] you to set me [D] free.

[D] I've found another man
[G] Who can give more than you can
Though you've [D] given me ev'rything money can [A7] buy
[D] But your money [D] can't hold me tight
Like [G] he does on a long, long night
[D] You know you didn't [A7] keep me satis-[D]fied.

CHORUS 2X
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZutNGdcqH0

Viktoria Münzker

Frangibilis


Frail souls and thoughts lend us to something white and strong. Burned in the heat of flame and transformed into someone else. White textures on hard but fragile material. With the simplicity of materials they are looking for harmony and individual expression. Opaque bodies and pieces of this preciousness tempt our senses. Natural metamorphosis enchants me. Delicate forms and mellow colors tempt our senses and create unique desserts. Working with emotions on a precious material like porcelain and bringing them into it, is like emotions coming out by hearing music.
Dripping and casting and floating porcelain. Crushable womb, burning ember, fading into little lune - fissile and lacerable.
Fading Necklace - Porcelain, Wood, Silver, Onyx, 17 x 28 x 2 c
photo ©Viktoria Münzker


Viktoria Münzker
STOSSIMHIMMEL-Studio for contemporary Jewellery
1010 Vienna
www.viktoriamuenzker.eu
office@viktoriamuenzker.eu
+4369912458690

Link to an unofficial video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ul5flyr-QVI

Melissa Cameron

The Raven and the Fishes


Medium: Recycled 800 silver, stainless steel cable, 925 silver chain.
Number of exhibit components: 3
Size (approx): The Raven: 200mm dia x 20mm + neckpiece of 50mm dia on 800mm chain
The Fishes:250mm x 100mm x 40mm
melissacameron.net
All images by Melissa Cameron
These works are in the collection of the Melbourne Arts Centre, Victoria, Australia

Statement
Two antique silver plates that have been altered, through saw piercing patterns and elevating patterns from their forms, using motifs derived from the poetry of Nick Cave (Australian performing artist and writer.) The motifs within these pieces conflict with one another in an attempt to together represent the sacred/profane syzygy that is ever-present in Cave’s writings. Within these works the “Cavian world”1 is given sculptural form, and the interplay of his metaphors are explored. The darker of the two is based on the song O’Malleys Bar; a murderous tale that comes with a sliver of mercy in the redeeming motif of “Saint Francis and his swallows” 2, while its counterpoint is drawn from another, Breathless; a sweet and richly metaphoric love song that includes its requisite point of darkness; a reminder of the authors mortality in his “juddering bones”3.

---
1 Nick Cave in an interview with Dave Graney and Elizabeth McCarthy, RRR Radio, 1/11/2011, http://www.rrr.org.au/programs/archive/
2 O’Malleys Bar. Nick Cave, 1996. From the album Murder Ballads, performed by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
3 Breathless, Nick Cave, 2004. From the album The Lyre of Orpheus, performed by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
---

Breathless - Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TI8xPw2aQA&feature=kp

O'Malleys Bar - Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTSpvCV34Ok
--
206 512 4533
melissacameron.net
melissacameron.net/blog

Casey Sheppard

Two Against One


Material: Leather, Rabbit Fur, Earphone cord, tacks, brass wire, fabric, sterling silver, PVC pipe, Spray Paint
Measurements: 8" x 22" x 4 1/2"
Website: www.caseyshepparddesigns.com
Photo Credit: Casey Sheppard
Music Link, Spotify Playlist:  Two against One !

Niki Grandics

Ghost X


Materials: Blown glass, electroformed glass cane, film positives, cast sterling silver, steel
Dimensions: 5”x14”x2”
Year: 2013
Photo by: Seth Papac

Past events and traditions continue to play very active roles in the way individuals and communities interact. While these moments in time exist only as memories, their physical and spiritual remnants become the lens through which we view our present world. Venetian Snares’ album “Rossz Csillag Alatt Szuletett” (translates as Born Under a Bad Star or Cursed from Birth) was inspired by Budapest and Hungary. The album features samples from classical music by Hungarian composers such as Bela Bartok and Rezso Seress sharply contrasted with harsher modern sounds. When I first listened to this album, it captured how I have long felt about this country and city where I spent a lot of time growing up. It embodied the contrasts and changes that I saw in the third district of Budapest, one of the largest and oldest parts of the city, from the early 90s to the present. The Roman ruins and late 19th century buildings share a district with towering Communist-era panel apartment buildings (many of which are undergoing a makeover and now look like giant Lego buildings), new upscale communities, and luxury shopping malls. It is a mash up of classicism, modernism, communism, and the noise of life carrying on and leaving its own mark through all of this. These ghosts influencing and in still making themselves known in the present inspired me to create this series of contemporary jewelry.

Sam Mitchell

Disparate Youth Necklace


2012
Copper and liquid enamel
2.5" x 18" x .25"
Photos by Chris Ellenbogen

Aldentedesigns.com

This necklace was born out of a moment of frustration. As a young person in school I'm trying very hard to better myself and achieve a dream only to be constantly reminded just how futile that dream is. My generation is continually blasted for being lazy and entitled, but I don't think that's true. We are working very hard to blaze our own unique paths towards success. We can no longer rely on the standard model of going to college and getting a job. The song "Disparate Youth", by Santigold, resonated very strongly for me when I made this piece, her lyrics embodied everything that I was feeling in that moment and trying to get across in the necklace.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIMMZQJ1H6E(official youtube video)
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/santigold/disparateyouth.html (the song lyrics)

Artist: Linda Kaye-Moses
Title: You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello, Hello, Hello


Year Made: 2000
Neckpiece and Nesting Case (only nesting case is shown)
Materials:  Neckpiece:Sterling silver, fine silver, 14k gold, Favrile Glass (Tiffany Studios), citron magnasite, variscite, boulder opal, beetle elytra, pyritized baculite (fossil), found object, mica schist
Nesting Case: Wood, acyrlic paint, found objects, hornet nest paper, copper, mica schist, sterling silver, water hyacinth pod
Techniques: Fabrication techniques including but not limited to: patination, engraving, roll-printing, die-forming, riveting, handmade chain
Dimensions:
Pendant: 7"h x  5"w x  .5"d
Nesting Case:3.5"h x 5.5"w x 9.25"d


Song: Hello Goodbye; written by Paul McCartney and released by the Beatles in 1967.


Photography: Evan J. Soldinger

Comment Wall

Comment

You need to be a member of Play That Funky Music ! to add comments!

Comment by Brigitte Martin on May 30, 2014 at 3:41pm

Thank you all for the nice comments. Making a music connection with our work is not something that we makers typically think of. I had never seen nor heard of an exhibition about that particular connection anywhere, which is, of course, exactly why I was interested to do this in the first place. We listen to music all day long in our studios so there simply had to be some underlying (or obvious) influence on our work, we just had to tickle it out for all to see. I am really glad the exhibit came together and provided us with new and very personal insights.

Thanks to all the artists and thanks again for your thoughts on the exhibit!

Comment by Kimberly Nogueira on May 30, 2014 at 2:41pm

 I loved reading the very personal stories relating to music and making, thank you for the fascinating exhibit!

Comment by Poppy Porter on May 16, 2014 at 4:20am

Great work, really carefully curated.  I love seeing how visual artists react to music it is always interesting.  Sorry I missed entering this one some of my new work is music inspired!  Not that any of it is finished yet!

Comment by Kirk Lang on May 6, 2014 at 9:12am

Please forgive the pun...but there are definitely a few gems in there ;)

Comment by Atelier Hg on May 6, 2014 at 5:49am

Beautiful work and a great concept for an exhibition!

Comment by The Justified Sinner on May 6, 2014 at 1:03am

What a fantastic exhibition. The individual narratives are fascinating.

Comment by Linda Kaye-Moses on May 5, 2014 at 3:24pm

Wow! Aren't we a fabulous collection of diversity, and ain't it great!

Comment by Sandra Murray on May 5, 2014 at 2:33pm
Interesting idea and fabulous creations - well done!
 

Members (22)

 
 
 

Latest Activity

Aleksandra Vali posted a status
"2023 Fortezza da Basso, Florence, Italy"
Sep 19, 2023
Aleksandra Vali and Letitia Pintilie are now friends
Sep 19, 2023
Catherine Marche liked Rebecca Skeels's discussion streamlining our pages
Feb 3, 2021
Jonathan Leo Brown posted a status
"An art deco inspired ocean liner container with multiple containers."
Nov 9, 2020

Videos

  • Add Videos
  • View All

© 2024   Created by Brigitte Martin.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service