Visual Musicality: The Harmony of Sight and Sound in Art
Here is one of the earliest paintings that I made in 1977 which would fall under the category of asemic writing 20 years before there was a name for it but this work also has a musical quality to it.
Visual Musicality: The Harmony of Sight and Sound in Art
The idea behind visual musicality is the synthesis of visual and auditory elements, where visual artworks evoke the qualities of music—such as rhythm, harmony, movement, and emotion. Artists explore these qualities by translating the intangible and temporal aspects of music into tangible, static forms. This concept creates a new language that speaks not only to our eyes but also to our sense of rhythm and feeling, creating a harmonious experience akin to music.
Visual musicality is an artistic attempt to harmonize disparate sensory experiences, fostering an immersive experience for the viewer. Music is characterized by movement in time, with notes, melodies, and rhythms creating a temporal journey. Visual art, in contrast, exists in spatial form, offering a single moment captured in time. However, artists throughout history have found ways to infuse movement and rhythm into their visual creations, transforming a static medium into something dynamic and alive. This process involves elements like repetition, flow, and contrast—concepts familiar to both music and visual art. By employing these tools, visual artists create an effect similar to a melody playing out across a canvas.
Abstract art offers some of the most profound examples of visual musicality. The works of artists like Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee, each resonate with a musical essence.
Kandinsky, for instance, was fascinated by the relationship between music and painting, believing that colors and shapes could evoke musical notes and emotional responses. His paintings are filled with rhythmic forms and dynamic compositions that seem to dance across the canvas. The idea of using abstraction to capture the ethereal nature of music allows the audience to experience a painting as if they were listening to an orchestral piece. The bold colors, sweeping lines, and carefully arranged forms evoke emotional states, reminiscent of a musical score that builds and crescendos.
Paul Klee, a contemporary of Kandinsky, often spoke of his desire to "take a line for a walk," which speaks to the rhythmic aspect of visual art. His playful use of line and form captures an intuitive sense of melody and improvisation, similar to a jazz musician exploring a tune. Klee's art is characterized by a balance of spontaneity and structure, an echo of the improvisational yet disciplined nature of music. His pieces often contain a whimsical quality that suggests a visual interpretation of a musical phrase, allowing viewers to feel as though they are witnessing a song in physical form.
In the following video Jonathan Posthuma makes a lovely musical interpretation of a little Paul Klee painting "Twittering Machine (1922)" from Paul Klee: Painted Songs Jonathan Posthuma, 2011
Visual musicality is not confined to abstraction alone. In representational art, such as painting or photography, visual musicality can be found in the careful arrangement of elements within the composition to create rhythm. For instance, the repetition of forms, the play of light and shadow, and the interaction of colors can create visual beats that guide the viewer’s eye across the artwork. The tension and release found in the juxtaposition of contrasting colors or shapes can evoke a sense of harmony, much like a well-resolved chord progression in music.
The influence of visual musicality extends beyond the canvas to architecture and sculpture. The architecture of Antoni Gaudí, with its flowing lines and organic forms, can be experienced like a piece of music—every curve and detail contributing to an overarching sense of harmony. In sculpture, the use of repetitive patterns and spiraling forms evokes a sense of rhythm and motion.
Visual musicality ultimately speaks to a deeper connection between the senses and human experience. By using the principles of rhythm, harmony, and movement, artists are able to create works that transcend the limitations of individual senses. This synthesis creates a holistic experience, one where viewers can feel as though they are "hearing" the visual world and "seeing" the abstract qualities of music. This intersection of sight and sound invites us to consider the ways in which our perceptions overlap, and how art can create a space where boundaries between senses are blurred. The Sufi Mystic and musician Hazrat Inayat Khan once said:
“The work of the senses is to experience, to taste, smell, touch, hear, and see; but besides these senses there is the inner sense which is one sense. It is by experiencing through the different organs of the senses that this one sense becomes many senses. It is the same sense which hears, smells, tastes, feels, touches; but because it experiences life through different organs, man divides one sense into five senses. The depth of that sense which is the inner sense is more subtle than one can imagine. When that sense finds a free expression it not only experiences life more keenly through the organs of the senses, but it becomes independent of the organs of sense.” (Vol. 1, The Soul, Whence And Whither? - Jinn)
and “ I wish to direct the attention of those, who search for truth, towards the law of music which is working throughout the whole universe and which, in other words, may be called the law of life, the sense of proportion, the law of harmony, the law which brings about balance, the law which is hidden behind all aspects of life, which holds this universe intact, and works out its destiny throughout the whole universe, fulfilling its purpose.
Music as we know it in our everyday language is only a miniature: that which our intelligence has grasped from that music or harmony of the whole universe which is working behind us. The music of the universe is the background of the little picture which we call music. Our sense of music, our attraction to music, shows that music is in the depth of our being. Music is behind the working of the whole universe. Music is not only life's greatest object, but music is life itself.” (Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music - The Music of the Spheres)
In essence, visual musicality brings a sense of life and dynamism to visual art. It draws us in, urging us to engage not only with our eyes but also with our emotions, memories, and sense of rhythm. Just as music has the power to evoke deep emotional responses, so too does visual musicality allow a painting to touch us in profound and often unexpected ways. By understanding and embracing the interplay between visual elements and musical qualities, artists and viewers alike can find a richer, more nuanced appreciation of art, where every line, form, and color contributes to an ongoing, visual symphony.
Through your recent posts, you've inspired me to create a collage to represent music I've been listening to.
I posted "DJ Set" on Notes just now. Thanks for the ideas and the inspiration!
https://substack.com/@ongoingmartin/note/c-74020148
Back when I was a professional artist (that is showing and selling my work in the gallery) I always listened to music as I created art. But since I've started up again a few yrs ago after a long hiatus I don't listen any more while working in the studio. It's just an observation to me since reading your articles about the subject of the direct connection of music and your art. For me I guess it wouldn't really work with assemblage that I do......mainly, I used to listen to music just to keep me in a more positive mood back then.