Chuck Baird on Uzi Buzgalo
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Rene Visco, the owner of the website, LightKitchen, Deaf Cinema, has asked me to write a critique on the Deaf artist, Uzi Buzgalo’s 12th portrait - Ludwig van Beethoven. It is a more than my pleasure to do so here on my weblog.
Let me step backward. I have written the proceeding of my lecture to the Deaf Studies Today on De’VIA (Deaf View Image Art) in Salt Lake City back in 2004. You can click to download this to read the whole thing,
But on the page 12, I wrote:
[For the lack of art critic from the magazines or newspapers on our Deaf Art shows, mostly due to their feeling discomfort, not able to do like telling a person on a wheelchair how to walk or don’t even know what to write based on that involved in our genre.]
Let us, any of us – experts, artists, or even art lover or De’VIA followers – start writing or saying about your or other Deaf artists’ works. Don’t wait but write. If you don’t want to write but sign to someone to write for you! The shelf containing information on the Deaf Studies is too little or most none of Deaf Art or De’VIA. We need to fill that shelf so someday; an art critic will pick them up and learn about De’VIA.
Here is my critique on Uzi’s. Enjoy!
I will skip-hop to a few points of the life of Ludwig von Beethoven as one of the greatest musician ever lived. According to his biography on the Internet: he was born as a musical genius in Bonn, Germany to the abusive father who saw his gifted talent very young like age of 6. He made him taking music lesson and often head thrashed him with the stick when he made mistakes. As many scholars believed that Ludwig experienced his first hearing loss in his twenties as the possibility of some tumor growth in his head that may have damaged his auditory nervous system.
When Beethoven was 18, his father has died so that he had to play the viola in the orchestra to support himself and 2 brothers. At his age of 22, Franz Joseph Haydn passed through Bonn and recognized the brilliant talent of young Beethoven, not only as a performer but also as a composer. Haydn insisted that Beethoven accompany him to Vienna to study as composer. The rest was the history.
Even when deafness totally overtook the composer, Beethoven continued to write and remained dedicated to his music. Beethoven had always heard the various instrumental parts "in his head" before actually listening to them. Now he composed completely in his mind, unable to listen to the music in any other way.
Uzi integrated the concept in his painting of his hand in ASL like we sign for pondering as he composed. He painted Beethoven’s hand white like the paper with the script and notes on it as he combed or raked his wild hair with his fingers.
Uzi used pink for the background for a reason that I believe, it has to do with the fact that although he had a violent temperament that frightened ladies. Beethoven's music expressed his innermost feelings through the dynamics and movement of the pieces he composed, leading into a more emotional period of music known as the Classical Era. He blended rich chords and tones, feelings, and emotion into the composition of his greatest pieces from love songs to symphonies.
You’d notice the end of his pen somewhat like the wire bend around creating the shape like hands with fingers, figuratively, instead of making five fingers each hand. That has been his trademark in his late works rather whimsy and dance like you notice the leaves whisking in breeze or a flower expanded out of your vase reaching for your care and love. You should visit his web gallery;
You also would notice the same pattern of Uzi’s hands on the vest. It is like in ASL you’d sign with fingers on your chest, moved or inspired; many layers of emotions circling inside the chest as he saw how he wanted to compose in his head.
Uzi is also making or collecting the old frames to modify that comprised well with his paintings. The frame with 4 little golden cupids attached the upper part has no need of explanation but a clever touch on Uzi’s part. He usually painted the frames bright and vivid colors that fit in De’VIA manifesto.
In my comment to the works of Uzi posted in Rene Visco’s tumblog, “The LightKitchen Production Notes” on 04-23-07. I wrote:
Uzi,
Fantastic! Your works are new and bold yet beautiful! I am more than thrilled, not only with my works but seeing your and other works of fellow artists continued blossoming. I could sit and stare your playful colors for hours in awe. Like the recent evolving in my works, a more toward to the colors and shapes somewhat like I called “Music for the Eyes”. I like how you picked the titles for individual works, too. Your frames are real cool and funky, simply brilliant. I can say more on and on but here I'd like to make a toast with glass
of champagne, I wish your art an ever more success down the road.
-cb-
Back to the portrait of Beethoven, Uzi, you and I know that he was late deafened, not as culturally deaf. I do sympathize them as I can imagine a horrible experience of losing the hearing in the middle of life but it was not the same as us who were born total or partial deaf; however, we do think a music in the head or feel it in heart without hearing it is a common among us. There was major motion picture recently made in 2006 by Agnieszka Holland had Ed Harris starring as Beethoven. The title is “Coping Beethoven.” I found the movie with subtitle or closed-caption; I forgot which but a real fascinate to watch.
There are some De’VIA artists who sometime explore and express in music as a subject matter. You’ll find it in works of Harry Williams, Uzi Buzgalo, Alex Wilhite, Paul Johnston, myself, and others. Brenda Schertz of Maine, who often is chosen as curator for De’VIA exhibits around the country, has analyzed our works and categorized them into four categories. One category is the representation of sound or musical notations visually.
There are many reasons why this seems to be a common theme. I do hear to the stereo turned up aloud enough. But for me, even thought I am culturally deaf, I find music inside me. I felt and created music in the form of visual art. Like Harry Williams with his violins without strings, I use musical notes with colors replacing the keynotes. In the flow from left to right, it gives the sense all together like an overture or something you hear or imagine of a symphony. You may view one of my music related works below.
As a deaf person, you’d play on the keys without hearing them but you imagine what it may look like. Like the poet’s license, you can have musician’s license.
Deafness doesn’t mean that you can’t hear the music; you can see it. I feel that there is a strong connection between painting and inner music, whether you have experienced hearing it or not.
The next step is a tricky question: you’d probably ask if it’s an aesthetic approach, how we lay out a composition with a color scheme, and so forth. Some people will find them very effective, and others won’t. Gallery owners or art critics would know the difference
There some errors in my English but thank you for reading this. I welcome any comment.
Chuck Baird
Sunday, June 17, 2007
