Music Mosaic

 

 

 

 

The moon is a being of contradiction. It is a bright light, yet it only appears when all else is dark. It is the sole natural source of warmth, guidance, and vision when all else is cold, dark, and mysterious. Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” mirrors this idea. The song is a blend of melancholy and hope, two completely contrasting ideas, yet they dissolve together into a beautiful, timeless piece of music. The images I captured attempt to embrace the song’s sense of mixing two contrasting ideas or objects into something more meaningful.

The first photo is of a high quality laptop. Computer innovators pride themselves on coming up with the ‘next big thing’ - more memory, faster processing, and picture quality are emphasized. On the screen, however, appears a simple, child-like, stick figure drawing of a man and a house. It takes high quality technology, and uses it to draw a simple picture. 

The second photo mirrors the moon as well as the song’s emotional patterns by contrasting darkness and light. Much like a person walking in the night, one can choose to focus on the darkness that surrounds them, or look into the distance toward the hope of the bright moon. Most of the space in the picture was meant to be dark to seem as if it were a surrounding force. Picture number three is similar to this idea. In a dark room, the only source of light comes from a lizard cage, which also happens to be the only life in the room.

Another contradiction in today’s world is between books and television. The fourth image is of a television held up by books.  Today, there seems to be a war going on between the two mediums, yet they make each other better when they work together, even though this is represented depressingly.

One way to look at the song’s message is to listen to the sadness and hope wrestling with each other, each trying to conquer the other. The photograph of the cloudy sky aims to capture that feeling. The dark clouds attempt to squeeze the light from the sky, yet the light penetrates through, creating a beautiful scene in nature.

Evergreen trees stand tall in defiance of snow-covered winters. As the ice engulfs the landscape, life vanishes, except for the evergreen tree. The sixth photo portrays an evergreen tree’s branch covering a snowy earth, reminding of its power over the cold. The battle between life and death makes for an extraordinary image.

Picture seven is of a tie hanging over a rugged band shirt. This represents the complexity of individuals. A well-balanced life is that of a happy person. Work and recreation are both essential to a fulfilling life. The photo attempts to capture the shirt by itself to emphasize its importance.

Lastly, is included a picture of a lemon bar. It contrasts the other images because it has no meaning, yet without it, the work is not complete.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT7_IZPHHb0