Miniatures to Tulsa

Shane Choi

Miniatures to Tulsa

An abstract and conceptual approach, yet musical approach was taken to this work. A collection of miniatures to Larry Clark photos from the book ‘Tulsa’, the approach taken was not to paint the photo with sound, but to more so, articulate my emotional response and create a musical context in which a listener could experience that emotional response based off the sound.

1. The photo is unresolved in an unorganised way. A collection of suspended sounds act as themes, allowing structure. Improvised and left raw with mistakes.

2. There is detachment in his face. There’s space in the photo. He is numb and mentally exhausted. No hope in his eyes. I understand him. I paint sympathy with a chord, pushing and pulling tension.

3. This photo is, simply put, uncomfortable. It is cluttered, and angled to show how uncomfortable the situation is. There is a building sense of how fed up the situation is in their faces. It’s contagious.

4. He has a needle in his arm. His tongue and hands show a little boy, excited as you would be on Christmas morning. I can only feel pity for him.
I tried to express this pity, and push the empowered child show through, the child with the needle in his arm.

5. There is a pulsing violence to such a soft image. Is this photo beautiful and delicate, or does this needle pulse with violence? She’s in the dynamics, and the needle is in the chords.

6. I can’t fully grasp or stay with the photo, because I’m in this small room, and I have no idea where I am. Hopefully, I put myself (and you) in the room. You’re also getting high off speed, and witnessing something violent, but not there with it.