Art & Music Inspired by Summer in Sweden
The SCC is a proud participant in the City of Newton’s Festival of the Arts planned for this coming spring. We plan to showcase an interactive multimedia installation featuring the felted sculpture of Swedish fiber artist Anna “Kristina” Goransson and the music of American Swedophile/percussionist Maria Finkelemeier.
The plan is an interactive multimedia installation inspired by the sights and sounds of summer in Sweden.
Save the date! Our event is planned for Thursday, May 7th with a reception planned for 5:30-7:30 and a performance at 7pm.
Here is a blog post penned by Maria after she and Kristina had an initial meeting to discuss their project…
Sound + visual art, where to begin?
Meeting with Kristina for fika to brainstorm the vision for our 2015 collaboration at the Scandinavian Cultural Center has been a blast! It’s always great to sit down with another artist and learn about their creative process – what sets an idea into motion? How do you make choices? How do you balance it all, and what is your timeline?
At the time of our meeting, we had each just returned from trips to Sweden, and began by recalling our experiences. I was very inspired by Kristina’s description of her adventure – she described an undercurrent of a “buzz” in the air paired with the overwhelming sense of calm. After a long conversation about the endless days and bathing in the crisp water, it was clear that we both were inspired by the contrast between the energy that the nature in Sweden emulates, paired with the serenity that the people embody. It was obvious that we both longed to spend more time in a place that we love!
To create our collaborative piece in the spring of 2015, Kristina and I will explore this duality – buzz vs. calm – chill vs. warmth – energy vs. tranquility. Through my music, I will start experimenting with contrasting timbres by using a range of mallets, or various instruments that complement each other. I am very excited that Kristina often uses one bold color paired with white in her work – this lends itself to very vibrant imagery that will drive my compositions. We will use both live and recorded music, and get together often in the new year to share each other’s work. For now, we are staring at pictures of our summer adventures and imagining what our project will both LOOK and SOUND like.
Stay tuned for more from Maria and Kristina as their ideas germinate, and we hope you’ll join us in May to see the final product!
