A Symphony of Art

September 18, 2009

Take the book The Soloist, add the composer Beethoven, artists such as Daumier, Goya, Apel and Calder, mix them all together and what do you get - a virtual symphony of art, “Resonance: Music/Visual,” the current exhibit at the Turner Print Museum and Gallery.

Dr. Russell Burnham, musician and CSU professor of music, used the Chico community’s Book in Common, The Soloist, as his inspiration to create this exhibit that reflects the themes of madness, Beethoven and music.

The Soloist is the story of Nathaniel Ayres, a homeless street musician who once attended Julliard but whose musical career was cut short by schizophrenia. L.A. Times columnist Steve Lopez befriends Ayres and chronicles the story of their friendship in his book, The Soloist. Ayres’ greatest musical inspiration was Beethoven.

“Using mainly the lives of Nathanial Ayers and Beethoven plus characteristics of the music of Beethoven, six inter-related categories presented themselves: Madness, Politics, The Organic, Architecture and Abstraction,” explains Burnham. Over the past three months, he and Turner curator Catherine Sullivan have collaborated in selecting prints from the Turner collection to reflect these categories.

Sullivan adds, “while ‘Resonance’ includes works by renowned artists, it offers the opportunity to see prints by artists one might not know of, although all have notable reputations in the world of printmaking.”

“Resonance: Music/Visual” runs September 28th – October 30th at the Turner located in the CSU Meriam Library . One of the missions of The Turner is to use the collection to enhance awareness of and education about printmaking as an art form. Arrangements for group tours and special visiting hours can be made through the museum office. The Turner is open 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM weekdays. For more information, visit www.theturner.org or call the museum office at 898-4476.