Sunday, October 16, 2011

Imaging the sacred art of chant

Since I wrote about ekphrasis yesterday and included a pointer to the ECVA Exhibition call for Imaging the Sacred Art of Chant, I thought I'd try my hand at "painting" to music; specifically, the chant music of Ana Hernandez and Ruth Cunningham (HARC).

The music is simply gorgeous (easy to find on itunes), and it led me to create a new madonna, seen here.  She's actually a compilation of three different statues -- a Buddha, a Mary, and a Mother Earth -- and the background is a mix of photos and paintings I've done over the years.

It was a wonderful, meditative experience, creating to Ana and Ruth's glorious music, and there was a glorious sense of rightness and fulfillment around what emerged for me.  I'm not sure I could write to this music; words and rhythms don't flow as well for me if I'm hearing words and rhythms outside my head.  But I could imagine that meditation would be greatly enhanced with this musical accompaniment; think I'll try it sometime!

2 comments:

kath said...

Hi Diane,

I love what you have done here ..the blending of Buddhist, Native, Christian elements into a Meditating or Chanting Madonna -brings new life to Mary's Song and the hope within.
Thanks for sharing both the image and the process behind it ..very stirring indeed.
kathryn

Diane Walker said...

Thanks, Kath; it really was a joy to create this one...