Poster Music in the Mts Festival

About the Art

The scene depicted is an impressionistic image of a violinist with the power to summon the Greek mythological muse Euterpe from the heavens. Through their passion for music they are connected, and the sweet sound of the violin resonates throughout the mountaintops, mesmerizing its audience through its serene starlit night.

When creating the poster, I thought of artists that were part of the art noveau movement during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These artists include Cheret, Lautrec and Gustav Klimt. I felt that the style of art noveau, like classical music, is full of expression, emotion, and passion. One of my favorite instruments to listen to is the violin. When watching violinists perform, their facial features reflect the emotion of their music and typically they appear to be in a dream-like state as they play each note.

I couldn’t help but think about the poster art created by Cheret, Lautrec and the work of Gustav Klimt. Cheret and Lautrec had a way of capturing the mood of an event. Many of their events reflected a joyous atmosphere or a sense of the flamboyant such as Lautrec’s Moulin Rouge poster (1891) and Cheret’s Carnavale poster (1894). I had wondered if they ever created posters for a classical music performance? I found a sketch of Cheret’s where he managed to capture a jovial looking woman dancing while she played a lute.

Klimt, another artist that engaged in the art noveau style, had an amazing way of capturing human emotion and the physicality of people. I found it interesting that Klimt was asked to paint for an exhibit honoring Beethoven. According to the Klimt museum website, “Gustav Klimt painted the Beethoven Frieze for the 14th Vienna Secessionist exhibition.” When viewing this piece, I noted Gustav ‘s goddess looking women and his use of gold hues. It reminded me of the sculptures found in ancient Greek and Roman art. Some of the women painted appear like muses, or rather a chorus of muses. As Klimt entered into his art noveau phase, it’s easy to note his depiction of fantastical women emerging with his use of gold along with his ornate design. Thinking about facets of Cheret’s, Lautrec’s and Klimt’s work, I had hoped to incorporate some of their art noveau style into the poster.

I wanted the muse to be more ornate and reflect the passionate mood found in the art noveau style. I viewed Klimt’s paintings of women and the ladies he painted for Beethoven’s Frieze exhibit. When I painted the muse, I used hues of gold and gave her golden swirls for her hair. I placed a star effect into her gold dress that dissipates into the night sky in order to make her appear more ornate and symbolize a dream-like quality. I hoped to create a sort of romantic depiction between the violinist and his muse wherein a love affair for music took place in the natural setting of the mountains.

I edited both paintings in Photoshop. I cut out the areas I didn’t want and merged them together in one piece. I painted in mountains since the event takes place in the rugged mountainous terrain found in Durango, Colorado. After I placed the elements, I used the filter gallery and chose the cut-out effect, adjusted the colors and added some special effect stars. I used the art noveau font called amarante. I added a distort effect to the font. In both Cheret’s and Lautrec’s posters, the font also had movement and helped reflect the mood of the given scene. I tried to incorporate this same feel in the words, “Music in the Mountains.”

When I drew the swirls in the muse’s hair, I thought about Klimt’s work. I noted he uses the swirl or circular lines a lot in creating his ornate designs. However, after I painted some of the nighttime colors I chose in my painting, the swirl reminded me more of Van Gogh’s impressionistic Starry Night. I had remembered reading that Van Gogh inspired Klimt and Lautrec at one time studied under the same instructor as Van Gogh. Although Van Gogh did not reach fame while he was alive, he definitely inspired many other artists and was a catalyst to merging styles like art noveau. I have always admired Van Gogh for how he captured the mood of nighttime. I think his dream-like style must’ve been somewhere in my memory as I thought about how the concert will take place in the mountains and under the stars.

The final outcome is a combination of influences from Greek mythology, art noveau, impressionism and the modern world of digital arts.