Visible deeds of music : art and music from Wagner to Cage

This thoughtful and provocative book explores the relationship between music and the visual arts in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, focusing on the modernist period. Reassessing the work of composers and artists such as Richard Wagner, Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee, Josef Matthias Hauer, and John Cage, Simon Shaw-Miller argues that despite modernism’s advocacy of media purity and separation, the boundaries between art and music were permeable at this time, as they have been throughout history. Shaw-Miller begins by discussing the place of Wagner’s music and ideas at the time of the birth of modernism, presenting Wagner’s aesthetic of the __Gesamtkunstwerk__ asan alternative paradigm for modernist art. He goes on to analyze Picasso’s use of musical subjects in his cubist works and Klee’s adoption of music and the issue of temporality in his paintings and drawings. He concludes with the radical aesthetic of Cage, the silencing of sound, and the promotion of intermediality in the work of Fluxus artists. Through these fascinating examples, Shaw-Miller raises questions about both art and music history that will be of interest to students of both disciplines. Annotation This thoughtful and provocative book explores the relationship between music and the visual arts in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, focusing on the modernist period. Reassessing the work of composers and artists such as Richard Wagner, Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee, Josef Matthias Hauer, and John Cage, Simon Shaw-Miller argues that despite modernism's advocacy of media purity and separation, the boundaries between art and music were permeable at this time, as they have been throughout history. Shaw-Miller begins by discussing the place of Wagner's music and ideas at the time of the birth of modernism, presenting Wagner's aesthetic of the Gesamtkunstwerk as an alternative paradigm for modernist art. He goes on to analyze Picasso's use of musical subjects in his cubist works and Klee's adoption of music and the issue of temporality in his paintings and drawings. He concludes with the radical aesthetic of Cage, the silencing of sound, and the promotion of intermediality in the work of Fluxus artists., Through these fascinating examples, Shaw-Miller raises questions about both art and music history that will be of interest to students of both disciplines A study of the relationship between music and the visual arts in the late-19th and 20th centuries, focusing on the modernist period. Reassessing the work of composers and artists such as Richard Wagner, Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee, Josef Matthias Hauer and John Cage, Simon Shaw-Miller argues that despite modernism's advocacy of media purity and separation, the boundaries between art and music were permeable at this time, as they have been throughout history. Shaw-Miller begins by discussing the place of Wagner's music and ideas at the time of the birth of modernism, presenting Wagner's aesthetic of the "Gesamtkunstwerk" as an alternative paradigm for modernist art. He goes on to analyze Picasso's use of musical subjects in his cubist works and Klee's adoption of music and the issue of temporality in his paintings and drawings. He concludes with the radical aesthetic of Cage, the silencing of sound, and the promotion of intermediality in the work of Fluxus artists. Through these examples, Shaw-Miller raises questions about both art and music history that should be of interest to students of both disciplines. This Text Explores The Relationship Between Music And The Visual Arts In The Late 19th And 20th Centuries, Focusing On The Modernist Period. It Argues That The Boundaries Between Art And Music Were Permeable At This Time. Ut Pictura Musica : Interdisciplinarity, Art, And Music -- Deeds Of Music Made Visible : Wagner, The Gesamtkunstwerk, And The Birth Of The Modern -- Instruments Of Desire : Musical Morphology In Picasso's Cubism -- Quasi Una Musica : Kupka And Klee, Music, And The Idea Of Abstraction -- Out Of Tune : Hauer's Legacy And The Aesthetics Of Minimalism In Art And Music -- A Chorus Of Voices : Seeing Music In Cage And Fluxus, The Birth Of The Postmodern. Simon Shaw-miller. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [245]-281) And Index. Contents......Page 8 Preface......Page 10 Acknowledgments......Page 14 One: Ut Pictura Musica: Interdisciplinarity, Art, and Music......Page 16 Two: "Deeds of Music Made Visible": Wagner, the Gesamtkunstwerk, and the Birth of the Modern......Page 51 Three: Instruments of Desire: Musical Morphology in Picasso’s Cubism......Page 104 Four: Quasi Una Musica: Kupka and Klee, Music, and the Idea of Abstraction......Page 136 Five: "Out of Tune": Hauer’s Legacy and the Aesthetics of Minimalism in Art and Music......Page 178 Six: A Chorus of Voices: Seeing Music in Cage and Fluxus, the Birth of the Postmodern......Page 223 Notes......Page 260 Index......Page 298 "This book explores the relationship between music and the visual arts in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, focusing on the modernist period. Reassessing the work of such composers and artists as Richard Wagner, Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee, Josef Matthias Hauer, and John Cage, Simon Shaw-Miller argues that despite modernism's advocacy of media purity and separation, the boundaries between art and music were permeable at this time, as they have been throughout history."--BOOK JACKET. This provocative book explores the cross-fertilization between music and the visual arts in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Reassessing the work of a wide range of composers and artists including Richard Wagner, Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee, and John Cage, Simon Shaw-Miller demonstrates how the boundaries between art and music were permeable at this time, enabling each to enrich the other.