This class did me a lot of good. It challenged to think less logically and more intuitively about music and art, and to just go ahead and make things I felt should be made. The music provided just enough direction.
My collage for Mississippi John Hurt is a good snapshot of what (and how) I learned from the amazing body of music we listened to. While I can feel the strength and humanity and beauty of folk songs, I can feel just as strongly the judgments and perceptions of people who take over ownership of this music - especially the crowd applauding stiffly at John Hurt's concerts.
I'm happy with this collage because it was the result of me trying to capture the texture of that applause and what it meant. I hope to do more work based on processes like that in the future.
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The song that stays with me the most from the semester is Barbary Allen. It's so neat and logical, but also so true - maybe because the story is incredibly detailed, down to what each person says to each other. I'm also enthralled by the fact that the words have hardly changed over many, many years. I love how it doesn't take a single instrument to perform it. Jean Ritchie's a capella version is incredible - I can listen to it all the way through without getting restless. It's strange and familiar at the same time.
A belated scan of my artwork based on Barbary Allen:
