I like the shape of the cello.
Its curves, the delicacy of the finished touches, and its sound! so clear ... profound and simple...
I began working on the Cello Series in 2010. I felt inspired by the many cellos lined up on the show room of violin maker's shop William Harris Lee on the 5th floor of the Fine Arts Building, where my studio is located. At night, when the building is quiet, I like to see the cellos, one after the other in rows as an army awaiting to be called to a musical field.
Using the image of a reclined cello, this series explores the dualities of life: warm.cold; positive.negative; soft.rough; sun.moon; life.death, etc. The series is composed of four drawings and four mixed media pieces.
I began the series by working from a photograph. At first it was simply graphite drawings
But as I kept working on them, I began reflecting on the precision and softness portrait by the instrument and its music. I thought on the impact of its music upon its audience's internal world. At the concert we see polite and appropriate behavior from the audience but more than once I have wondered "what really is going on in the internal world of this audience?..." "what their ears will hear?..." "will the music really make a difference in their inner world?..."
I asked myself: how could I represent the duality of human existence ... I began then exploring with other materials and techniques: I printed the drawing onto a translucent piece of paper which in turn was fixed onto a wooden frame. On that surface, oil pastels were applied and worked with melted wax; in some instances the naked eye can't make the image below and the contrast between the soft and delicacy of the cello and its music is buried by a conglomerate of wax particles interrupting, perhaps, a pleasant view of the image. Viewers asks me about the titles... about the colors chosen... I worked intuitively; rational explanations are out of the creative equation ...
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Translucent Bow (sold)
-private collection of lyric singer Oswaldo Iraheta) |
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| Punishment of the Cello |
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| Hanging Note |
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| Bringer of Strings |
