April 21, 2009
Flotsam?
…about the musicA lovely collartboration.
I was charmed when British painter Simon Kenevan contacted me out the the blue last year after stumbling upon my music, several CDs of which he then ordered. What led him to me? Well, in a quick quest for visual stimulus to inspire his next work, Simon did a Google image search. Blanketed by a groggy, morning coffee haze familiar to many of us, he randomly typed in the word, “flotsam.”
Right. “Flotsam” and “chamber music composer” fit hand and glove, don’t they?
As he wrote me later, “Up came a nice photo of you in amongst seaweed, dead jellyfish, stuff like that. So you kind of stood out.”
Thank goodness for that. And I might add, I smell a tad better, too.
A year later, Simon is creating the third in what may be an ongoing series of what I’ve dubbed “collartborations”: videos that pair his painting process with one of my pieces. We are both sea-loving artists, and it has been a natural fit. More natural, even, than “flotsam” and “chamber music composer.”
Imagine that.
I do love the internet.
Glenn Buttkus said,
April 22, 2009 @ 10:27 am
It is probably just my computer here at the office, but there is no picture in the white box at the top of the posting, and there is no musical clip above the Info About the Music. I love the internet too. Thanks for explaining “collartborations”. That must be a thrilling and esthetic ride for you. Decades ago I approached some of my friends who were musicians and half-assed song writers, and asked them to consider composing music for one of my poems. They stated, “there’s no music in it”, which I knew was malarky. Again, in my fantasies, I would have a videographer friend of mine shoot some visuals inspired by my poetry, while I narrate a poem or two; and of course all that would be missing would be an Alex Shapiro score for it.
Glenn
zenfull said,
April 22, 2009 @ 6:43 pm
that was an awesome combo for sure…thanks for sharing it.
i visited simon’s website but couldn’t glean where he is living in the usa. has he been to the san juans or the gulf islands yet?
Alex Shapiro said,
April 23, 2009 @ 1:00 am
Simon lives in Georgia right now, I think. I believe he moved to the states three years ago. I don’t think he’s been to the San Juans, but he has been to La Conner, a lovely area near Anacortes on the mainland. He seems to love this environment and it would be great fun to have him and his wife come out here sometime!