Movement and Visual Art

Passage, oil on masonite, 20 x 16 inches.
©2006 Mary A. Gravelle. Original is not for sale.
If interested, inquire about a giclee print.

I came across this Video on Moving to Visual Art yesterday and I thought "how cool!” so I thought I would share it with you. Painter, Andrew Purchin, and collage artist, Lisa Hochstein, teamed up in a “day-long artist residency at MAH on Sept 3rd from 11:00AM - 5:00 PM” where they hoped to create a community of dancers to move to their works.[1] Andrew says in his artist statement that his work is about “carving the space” with his paintbrush.[2] He integrates his dance improvisation experience with his painting-in-the-moment experience to provide what he hopes is a moving experience for the viewer.

During my Wisdom Painting sessions, I ask participants to move to their paintings. But, these paintings are purely personal and painted for the spiritual purpose of self-discovery. What about fine art paintings? In the video mentioned in the first paragraph, people are asked to move to fine art paintings and collages in a gallery setting. How very refreshing! People are actually asked to respond to the paintings. What a concept.

With much the same message as the above video, another article I found talks about an exhibit called “MOVE: CHOREOGRAPHING YOU, ART AND DANCE SINCE THE 1960S". During the exhibit, visitors are choreographed inviting them to partake in a more physical experience of the art.[3]

And what about this video: “Art of Moving?” The fluid and sometimes-funky movements of the dancers invoke an abstract painting where the artist utilizes fluid and free brushstrokes. And in another video from Mirabai Ceiba, we see a woman who is moving her body on the landscape to her own song. I class this video along with visual art because the images are beautiful and are fine art themselves. This video is a spiritual and visual treat that any artist could get inspired by. These two videos turn it around on the artist to become inspired by movement in creating their art.

Which is exactly what Hans Moore is doing in his YouTube video. He sets his computer generated art images in motion while a song plays in the background. I found it mesmerizing. At the same time, it was inspiring thought in me of how to integrate movement into my own visual art.[4]

So, the question for you, the dear reader of my blog, is how do you want to move the viewer with your art? Do you want to move them emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, or physically, or any combination of these? How would you need to change your art to meet your desire? Please feel free to share your thoughts by posting a comment here.

442 words

---

[1] http://www.andrewpurchin.com/projects/reflections-undoing-artists-residency-mah

[2] http://www.andrewpurchin.com/projects/artist-statement

[3] http://arts.columbia.edu/visual-arts-faculty-janine-antoni-move-choreographing-you-art-and-dance-1960s-49298

[4] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaIvFQYs_8E