Art exhibit questions – What does a painting sound like?
A new exhibition is seeking to bring paintings to life by presenting a unique perspective on colour using sound compositions.
Launched on 10 May at Bradford arts venue Kala Sangam, colourful pieces of work seek to connect the way we link colour as sound, with each piece having a specific soundtrack of its own.
The paintings have been created by Professor Helen Baker, who has completed research in the British School at Rome which considered how abstract colour might be located in a place as a memory.
As Professor of Fine Art at Northumbria University, she led research into colour in painting and continues to curate exhibitions that investigate the area.
She told the Yorkshire Standard: “I am delighted to have the work here, in particular, at a venue which is so much about colour and because it also has a link to theatre and performance. The exhibition will be on till August, so there is plenty of time for people to come and see it.”
Mrs Baker’s work has been interpreted by award-winning composer John Alder, who has worked alongside theatre companies and has also composed for film and television.
Mr Alder said: “Helen gave me the painting, and I sat and thought about what that painting sounded like. To start with it almost seemed quite impossible, but once I got started I couldn’t stop.
“What I ended up doing is writing a soundtrack to the paintings. So you can look at a painting and watch it develop over a period of time.”
There are eleven tracks that relate to a specific painting, and they have also been uploaded to Soundcloud so people can listen via earphones as they walk around the exhibit.
Artistic director at Kala Sangam, Dr Geetha Upadhyaya, said: “Kala Sangam and Arts Connect are delighted to work in partnership to promote the rich tapestry of visual arts of South Asia and bring leading artists’ work to the northern region.
“Helen Baker’s work looks at the impact of colour in its purest form.”
The exhibition is open and will be running till 10 August.
