11/24/10

Monk's Quirky Music


Monk’s Quirky Music  Studies II  


1 "Misterioso" (Tire and Basketball Hoop) 3.5"x3.5" gelatin print
A Remembrance and Expression of Gratitude
A Visual Homage to Thelonious Monk and his Music

 Selected photographs 
from the Studies Project 1994-2000   


Introduction
I have written often about my Studies project, a large series of small 3.5x3.5" silver gelatin prints made from 1994-2000, and how the work was inspired by miniature piano pieces by both classical and contemporary composers.  But in 2011 I realized I had never before mentioned the great jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk as an influence on this work.  How could that have gone unstated for such a long time?  I know Monk was a direct influence on the Studies project though when I was making those photographs its possible I may not have consciously recognized it.  

I have listened to Thelonius Monk's music, especially his solo piano music, quite regularly since the 1980's.  It is always refreshing, rejuvenating, inspiring and comforting to me.  When no other music works for me I go back to Monk.  It is timeless and free.  During the period 1994-2000, when I was making the miniature photographs I surly must have been listening to Monk along with Chopin, Debussy, Bach, Shostakovitch, Bolcom, Ligeti and Kurtag, etc. 

Because Monk has been one of my constant companions, such an important presence in my life, I have created this new 2011 online project as a tribute to the man, his music, and the importance of Monk's music in my life.

Monk’s music is so full of joy and fun, invention and heartfelt directness.  Monk's music is always a surprise, even if I've heard the recording a million times.  It's at once a mix of the traditional (melody, stride) and radical, unpredictable abstraction.  He is without doubt one of the greatest pianists, and one of the greatest composers, ever; a true genius.
  
I understand now that the confluence in his music of the classical-traditional-melodic, and the abstract, has been an ideal I have pursued throughout my photographic picture making career.  In other words, I have intuitively aspired toward a visual equivalence of his "quirky" music.  His starting point was a well know melodic tune; mine was the the appearances of the world.  From there we improvised in our own individualistic ways that were most appropriately aligned with our own personal Creative Processes which originate from some ineffable place I like to refer to as the Heart.  

 My project Studies 1994-2000, and the Garage Series 1999-2001, was an unconscious-intuitive exploration of this ideal as I worked in a relative state of liberation from most picture making conventions.  Everything seemed possible when I worked in alignment with the flow of my Creative Process, and the spirit of the miniature piano pieces that were my inspiration; everything was permitted in the Studies project of 1994-2000 from which the Monk pictures here below were carefully, lovingly, gratefully selected.




                                                         2 Monk, playing on a ladder,  Studies, 3.5" gelatin print



                                                         3 Monk's Starry sky (road salt), Studies,  3.5" gelatin print
                                                             


Quirky
What does that word “quirky” mean?  Eccentric, peculiar, idiosyncratic, a sudden sharp turn, unpredictable, far out, unconventional.  That word characterizes not only Monk’s music but also some of his infamous, very odd behaviors.  For example, he often spinned, slowly, in a clock-wise direction -- like a whirling dervish -- while others in his band took solos.  

I love the strange spaces, the odd rhythmic changes, the surprising dissonances and in general the unpredictability of Monk’s music.  He was a master at hitting all the “wrong” notes, almost all of the time, in just the right way, so that it came out sounding just right.  Perfect.  Beautiful.  Monk insisted on being free to play what needed to be played, and he did it at any cost.  People have likened Monk's music to Webern and Charles Ives, two of my musical heroes.  Indeed, I too wanted to live in that creative ideal, and the Studies project allowed me that freedom.  (see my Introductory texts to the Studies  project of 1994-2000)  

Another of my musical heroes, Steve Lacy, was a student of Monk’s.  (Many have said, including Lacy, that Monk taught non-verbally.  That is, there were musical conversations that took place between him and other musicians . . . conversations without words.)  Lacy was one of Monk’s greatest admirers, and one of the few who dared play Monk's compositions even while Monk was still alive.  In fact Lacy created several albums and entire concerts devoted completely to Monk’s music.

Interestingly, in 1977-78 I created a body of work in response to Steve Lacy's music click here.  It's not clear to me if it was through Lacy that I consciously discovered Monk.  Nonetheless, at long last, I am finally honoring Monk's importance in my life by dedicating this large thematic group of my Studies photographs, entitled “Quirky Pictures”  to this beloved musician who lived so much of his life in the realms of the ineffable.  Thank you, Monk, for all that you have given me and the rest of the world through your music and your life.  These pictures are for you.  I remember you and share my love for you and your music though these photographs.




                                                        4 Monk's Footprints,  Studies,  3.5" gelatin print



                                                         5 Monk's Music written in the sun's reflection, Studies 3. 5"



The Quirky project  How it came into being
Between 1994 and 2000 I had collected a body of miniature Studies photographs that numbered close to a thousand edited prints.  As thematic groups formed themselves spontaneously during that time, I named the groups according to subject matter, technical and tonal characterizations, conceptual ideas, etc.  

 There was a group of photographs I entitled “Quirky Pictures” which until now I had never associated with Monk and his music.  These were the odd-ball photographs that for the most part defied being placed in most of the other categories.  The quirky pictures tended to be more abstract or transformative; they might have lacked a nameable subject, or perhaps functioned within a radical tonal range.  They displayed in one way or another what to me was an unconventional way of seeing photographically.

I was talking to some people in mid September, 2011 about the influence of music on my work.  We got around to talking about jazz as an influence and I mentioned Steve Lacy and others, but eventually I brought up Monk as one of my absolute favorite composers and performers.  I said surprisingly: I have always wanted to honor Monk with a body of work but I could never figure out how to do it.  His music is so quirky.  

Shortly after that conversation, I was working on the web page for my Studies project, and as I was listing all the thematic group titles I could remember for the project . . . the term “quirky pictures” came up again in my mind as one of the thematic titles.  Excitedly, I looked through all the studies prints I still had in my possession and pulled out a selection of my favorite “quirky pictures” and considered those images in relation to my experience of Monk's music.  The equivalence between images and music worked perfectly for me.

 In a way the entire Studies project is a celebration of Monk and his music, but I wanted to create a webpage dedicated to Monk, so the images you see here are a special selection from the larger 1994-2000 Studies series in his honor.  



                                                        6 Monk's creative energy (Thrown Straw-ball) Studies
                                   


                                                        7 Monk, Up and Down the keyboard,  Studies 3.5" gelatin print Dig.



Quotes about Monk and his Music
“Monk told me a note can be small as a pin or as big as the world, it depends on your imagination.”  
Steve Lacy

“Monk taught us about playing in between the notes.  He said most guys play either slow, fast or medium--only three tempos, and we’re going to play between the three.”  
Ben Riley, Monk’s drummer for many years.

“Part of his fantastic power was to be able to absorb anything, use it himself and make it his own.”  
David Amram


Quotes by Monk
"I say, play your own way. Don't play what the public wants. You play what you want and let the public pick up on what you're doing - even if it does take them fifteen, twenty years."  

"If you really understand the meaning of be-bop, you understand the meaning of freedom."

"Jazz is my adventure.  I'm after new chords, new ways of syncopating, new figures, new runs. How to use notes differently. That's it. Just using notes differently."

"The piano ain't got no wrong notes."



                                                        8 "Monk's notes are Diamonds, Rubies, Pearls" (Lacy) Studies



                                                         9 Monk's notes: Pebbles, Studies, 3.5" gelatin print




Monk's Quirky Composition Titles 
(16 of the 70 titles)

Introspection
Let's Call This
Epistrophy
Evidence
Four in One
Misterioso
Reflections
Criss Cross
Off Minor
Round Midnight
Think of One
Trinkle Tinkle
Ugly Beauty
Monk's Dream
Who Knows
We See
Nutty
I Mean You
Crepuscule With Nellie






                                                         10 Monk's odd musical space unfolding , Studies,  3.5"



                                                         11 Monk's Abstraction / Monk's Obstruction  Studies, 3.5" 



                                                         12 Monk's Screw,  Studies, 3.5" gelatin print


                                                         13 Monk's sharp triads,  Studies, 3.5" gelatin print



                                                         14 Monk's photo submerged in a puddle,  Studies, 3.5"



                                                         15 "Trinkle Tinkle"  Monk Studies, 3.5" gelatin print



                                                         16 Monk riding a wild horse, Studies, 3.5" gelatin print



                                                         17 Monk's view, riding a wild horse, Studies, 3.5" gelatin print



                                                         18 "Ugly Beauty"  Monk Studies, 3.5" gelatin print



                                                           19 Monk's fly, Studies, 3.5" gelatin print



                                                          20 Monk's Dog,  Studies,  3.5" gelatin print



                                                          21 Monk Jr. became a drummer,  Studies, 3.5" gelatin print



                                                          22 "Reflections"  Monk  Studies, 3.5" gelatin print



                                                         23 "Introspection"  Monk  Studies (upside-down stairs)  3.5"



                                                          24 "Criss Cross" (Monk's intersecting streams)  Studies



                                                          25 Monk's Bubbler,  Studies,  3.5" gelatin print



                                                          26 Monk's Tear,  Studies,  3.5" gelatin print



                                                          27 Monk's Knot,  Studies, 3.5" gelatin print


                                                          28 "Think of One"  Monk Studies,  3.5" gelatin print



                                                          29 Monk's race,  Studies, 3.5" gelatin print



                                                          30 "Who Knows"  Monk Studies (Woman in Hat)  3.5"



                                                          31 "We See"  Monk  Studies (girl & sweater) 3.5" gelatin print



                                                          32 Monk's black and white shadow  Studies, 3.5" gelatin print



                                                          33 "Off Minor" Monk Studies (cement blocks) 3.5" gelatin print



                                                          34 "Evidence"  Monk Studies  (parking lot) 3.5" gelatin print



                                                          35 "Four in One" Monk Studies (lake ice, dog legs) 3.5" 



                                                          36 "Epistrophy" Monk Studies (satellite disk) 3.5" gelatin print



                                                          37 "Let's Call This" Monk Studies (sand shadow) 3.5" gelatin



                                                         38  Monk's Truck, Studies  3.5" gelatin print



                                                          39 Monk's Fence (after being hit by a truck)  Studies 



                                                          40 "Round Lights" Monk Studies 3.5" gelatin print



                                                          41 Monk's Smiling Garage,  Studies 3.5" gelatin print



                                                          42 Monk's Weird Winter Window,  Studies 3.5" gelatin print



                                                          43 Monk wrestling in the snow  Studies 3.5" gelatin print

                                        

                                                          44 Monk Shooting Hoops  Studies 3.5" gelatin print



                                                          45 Monk's Dream  (bird flying toward the light)  Studies 





*

If you are interested in seeing additional "Quirky" images
from my Studies I and II projects, visit this link:
Additional Studies Photographs 1994-2000






Visit Related project titles:
Posted by Steven D. Foster at 8:48 PM