Inspired by Music



Inspired by Music focuses on the ways in which music, musicians and musical ideas have influenced the visual arts in the 20^th and 21^st centuries. The display includes artworks based on pieces of music and music that has been based on works of art. Visual artists are shown using musical ideas and responding to ways of composing music. The display suggests connections between music and art and a selection of musical examples have been chosen by the curator to accompany some of the works of art.

Inspired by Music focuses on the influence of music on art in the 20^th century and beyond. This was the time when visual artists began to directly address the abstract qualities of music and the ways in which these could be interpreted on the painted surface. As the twentieth century progressed, artists and musicians entered into more collaborative relationships. There are many examples of artists seeking to fuse sound and vision through installation, video work and performance. Other movements have developed art and music in parallel, applying the same rules and structures to the creation of both art and of music. Interactions between the visual arts and pop music have brought such collaborations to the forefront of mainstream popular culture.