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Christina’s World
This was inspired by an Andrew Wyeth painting of the same name. The first time I saw it, I thought it was a photograph. It was so realistic down to the last blade of grass. For years I just thought it was a painting of a young woman reclining in a field of grass. Later I discovered the true story behind it. Christina was paralyzed from the waist down. She rejected a wheelchair and chose to crawl instead. I never looked at the painting the same way again.
I tried to include two repeating themes. The first is a short motif of three ascending notes. These represent her desire to get up and walk again. The other is a deep piano bass note that reminds her of the harsh reality of her condition. When you hear it, think of a voice saying NO. Although you can’t see it in my graphic, if you get a chance to look at the original, you can see that her left hand is struggling to get home. Ironic that it’s at the center of the painting. Coincidence? I think not. Yeah, Andrew Wyeth was that good. That house is a long way off. It’s a sad song.
I used Piano Motifs to create a few dozen parts. I selected six, edited them a bit in the Cubasis piano roll, then arranged them on the timeline using various instruments. The piano is all Pure Piano. The other parts are mostly Thumbjam. I hadn’t used that for a while and forgot how good the instruments were.
Comments
I had never seen this painting. Reading the story behind it along with the music you have created really made it come to life.
Andrew Wyeth is my favorite American painter. He used tempera paint and eggs. Yumm! Some say that Edward Hopper is the greatest American painter. Several years ago, we saw Nighthawks at the Chicago Art Institute. When I thought nobody was looking, I reached out and touched it. Somebody must have noticed. It’s behind glass now.
We have one of Wyeth’s ‘Helga’ series prints hanging in our living room. My wife saw it at one of our favorite restaurants and had to have it. There is some controversy as to whether or not he was having an affair with her. None of my business. Fortunately, I work for a company that creates ultra high quality color proofs and was able to get one for free. An official numbered edition would be way out of our budget.
Anyhow, Space Team Omega is rocking. Watch out for asteroids!
This is lovely, the defiant 'no' complements and grounds the piece as the piano motifs cycle through above. Lots of great story telling going on here today!
You made a great piece of music here Paulie! Thanks, frenq
Really enjoyed this track @Paulieworld. That deep piano bass really enhances the mood of the piece.
Great music, art and story. Off to look at some Wyeth - thanks for sharing.
Wow @Paulieworld this is really good! I love it!
I’d never heard of this artist either.. and I had to re-read your post; as I thought you were saying that your wife was having an affair with him lol 😂
I'm a fan of Wyeth's artwork--underappreciated artist, IMHO. I first caught up with him after seeing the Coot Hunter at the AIC. Nice piece of music here, as well. Enjoyed it
This is a powerful track that resonates with me. Thank you
I was thinking the same thing about storytelling. As I was saying to @azul3D_Apps in a message, those bass notes started out as an accident, but I decided to keep them and sprinkle them throughout the track. Thank for listening.
Thank you, my friend!
Thank you. Enjoy the art!
I’m not really knowledgeable about art, but I have found a few things that I love. I asked my wife if she had a fling with Andrew Wyeth. She said… I wish!
One of the first paintings I saw was in grade school. We used to have monthly visits by the “Picture Lady”. She would bring in something new and talk about the painting and the artist, and would leave it in the classroom for us to study. I don’t think they do that anymore. I guess priorities have changed. So, you actually met him? That must have been great to shake the hand that created so much great art. When you say AIC, are you referring to Chicago? We haven’t been downtown in years. We liked to have breakfast at the little place across the street, then just wander around the museum for the day. My wife was into stained glass for several years, and we were always hoping that they would bring out the Chagall windows. Sadly, it’s become too dangerous to go downtown anymore.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for listening!
Thank you, so much. I really enjoyed making it. I can’t say enough good things about Piano Motifs. I don’t use any external keyboards and PM gives me a lot to work with. Just pick a few parameters and click Generate and see what you get. It’s not always perfect, but it gets me thinking about new ideas. If you like it, just save the MIDI data into Cubasis and have fun. If you don’t already own it, you should seriously think about getting it. It’s less than lunch at McDonalds, and a lot healthier!
I also admire his work. His powers of observation and the feeling of a place.
My wife is also an egg tempera artist. It is a very painstaking medium requiring many layers of brush strokes.
Maybe your piece kind of reflects that.
This piece is golden, like the entire Andrew opus. 🤩 I didn’t know about Christina's tragic story. Her struggle is so inspiring, thank you for sharing.
I didn't know that about the egg tempera process. That will affect how I look at these in the future. It seems like most everything has another story beneath the surface if you care to look. Thank you for your time and thoughts!
That is one fine compliment. Don't know if I deserve it... but I'll take it! Very much appreciated. Thank you for listening. Have a great day.
@MrStochastic @pbelgium @lukesleepwalker @MadeofWax
I found a great article discussing the painting. There are several closeups that show the amount of detail involved.
https://artsnfood.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-close-look-at-andrew-wyeths-painting.html
It's amazing to see the fine details. Her hair, the grass, the wood of the old buildings. I would love to see this in person. I can see the many layers in the pictures and I imagine they are even more impressive when viewing the actual painting. I'll have to read the article when I get home from work.
Thanks for sharing this.
It looks like an interesting web site... Arts and Food. What's not to love about that. Did you happen to notice the recipe for the Potato Ice Cream? I showed it to my wife. She said... we won't be having that any time soon.
Lovely work Paul, really nice piece of music and enjoyed the little ThumbJam interjections although I’m not sure what they were… Viola and pan pipes ?
You’re probably right. I was just trying different instruments with the MIDI data. It started with a phrase from Piano Motifs, and I did a few small edits. Then I just decided to double it with another instrument. I had forgotten how good the Thumbjam instruments sounded. I have started using it more lately.
I didn’t know the story either. Andrew’s father N.C. was a famous illustrator and painter and his son, Jamie, also pretty famous, is still alive at 78. It ran in the family. Nice track and evocative of the painting, too.
Toda Raba, Shalom berakhah ve Tovah.
Did I ever tell you I spent four years, after I retired, attempting to be an Orthodox Jew? Months in Jerusalem studying, kosher, Sabbath observant, prayers 3x a day and much more on Saturday.
I failed. Fortunately.
You never told me that. I don’t think of it as failure. Orthodoxy is not for everyone, but you gave it four good years. I think of it as research. Perhaps you didn’t get the outcome you expected, but it was a learning experience. Maybe your ultimate purpose was for something else, and you still have work to do. In a few years, AI will completely take over music composition. Who knows, your improvisations may be considered “classical” music in the future.