| Art Gallery |
| Improvisational |
| " Hell Pt. One: No Water " oil on canvas (30" x 90" ) |
" Hell Pt. One: No Water," was painted in 90 hours to live improvised jazz music in
the home of (Joe) Clarence Brooks Haven in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and consists of 16
separate movements performed by musicians Jeremy McDonough (keyboard), Brenden
Bassler (guitar), and Luke Williams (guitar), and painted by artist Jason Dean Lichty.
This painting was the genesis for Improvisationalism, a term coined by McDonough and
Lichty, June of 2003, after McDonough's suggestion to experiment with music and
painting. Improvisationalism became and intellectual pursuit for the syncretization and
synchronization of an improvised musical set and an improvised figure painting. In the
search for aesthetic truth, however, improvisationalism as a theory played itself thin,
rendering compositions both musically and visually that were loose and frantic.
Improvisationalism struggled to provide any articulation artistically as to the nature or
content of any intrapsychic dynamic taking place between the painter and the
musicians. The argument becomes whether the final painting is the proof of a unified
experience, derrived from a telepathic origin, like synesthesia, or whether its just a
painting that was made while some guys played some music. - Jason Dean Lichty
the home of (Joe) Clarence Brooks Haven in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and consists of 16
separate movements performed by musicians Jeremy McDonough (keyboard), Brenden
Bassler (guitar), and Luke Williams (guitar), and painted by artist Jason Dean Lichty.
This painting was the genesis for Improvisationalism, a term coined by McDonough and
Lichty, June of 2003, after McDonough's suggestion to experiment with music and
painting. Improvisationalism became and intellectual pursuit for the syncretization and
synchronization of an improvised musical set and an improvised figure painting. In the
search for aesthetic truth, however, improvisationalism as a theory played itself thin,
rendering compositions both musically and visually that were loose and frantic.
Improvisationalism struggled to provide any articulation artistically as to the nature or
content of any intrapsychic dynamic taking place between the painter and the
musicians. The argument becomes whether the final painting is the proof of a unified
experience, derrived from a telepathic origin, like synesthesia, or whether its just a
painting that was made while some guys played some music. - Jason Dean Lichty
| The 16 Movements of "Hell Pt. One: No Water" |
1. Narrative Challis 9. Syndicated Chinese Woman, (B.K. Sarah), (The Devil)
2. Raping Picasso Bb minor 10. Sunflower Man D major
3. Dr. Seuss Fingers 11. Mrs. Pear
4. Brenden's Third Shoulder 12. Water Tank Music C major
5. The Blues Underneath A minor 13. When the Puppet Master Lost His Puppets
6. Mr. Robot 14. How Plastic is Plastic
7. Mr. Ice F major 15. The Conversation Between Mr. Robot
8. Putting Out Fires Management and Squidly Lupens
16. The Death of Sound
2. Raping Picasso Bb minor 10. Sunflower Man D major
3. Dr. Seuss Fingers 11. Mrs. Pear
4. Brenden's Third Shoulder 12. Water Tank Music C major
5. The Blues Underneath A minor 13. When the Puppet Master Lost His Puppets
6. Mr. Robot 14. How Plastic is Plastic
7. Mr. Ice F major 15. The Conversation Between Mr. Robot
8. Putting Out Fires Management and Squidly Lupens
16. The Death of Sound
Improvisationalism
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| "Improvisation #3" oil on canvas (48" x 60") Painted Over with "The Blind Street Fiddler and Guitar Player" (Not Pictured) private collection |
"Improvisation #3" was painted in front of a live audience of 500 Continuing Ed. school teachers in a
seminar trying to display the synesthetic phenomenon between simultaneous live music and figure
painting. Conducted in Waller Hall, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, July of 2003, to the musical
accompaniment of Jeremy McDonough, as a performance piece of improvisationalism. Graduate
student seminar courtesy of Dr. Eugene F. Thibadeau philosophy professor, and the Continuing Ed.
department of I.U.P.
seminar trying to display the synesthetic phenomenon between simultaneous live music and figure
painting. Conducted in Waller Hall, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, July of 2003, to the musical
accompaniment of Jeremy McDonough, as a performance piece of improvisationalism. Graduate
student seminar courtesy of Dr. Eugene F. Thibadeau philosophy professor, and the Continuing Ed.
department of I.U.P.