Making Art: Sigur Rós
Art is made in many ways and as such is manifested in many forms. Music, next to God, is probably the biggest influence in my life. Unfortunately I can not hold a tune to save my life and as a result have no musical talent whatsoever. What that does make me is a huge music fan. I listen to a lot of music. It is way more then just sounds to me and as an artist I fuel off of it. I mention all of this because while many view music as an art form it seems like it is never given the same kind of credit as other art mediums. Understanding the relationship between the artist, the works they create, and the inspirations behind them is one of my favorite things to study. Truth be told its the only way I can approach art history. But what I am getting at with all this is really just about something I experienced, or should I say experience on a regular basis. You see, if you haven’t listened to Sigur Rós then you are missing out a true musical experience. Recently, they released a DVD entitled Heima. There were many purposes to the film all of which are explained when watching but what I find interesting is the placement of imagery with sound. The choices of colors and movements of the camera make for an interesting thought.
This is what of course drew me to the film but what brought me to blog was a description comment made during the film about how they make their music. They talk about how they sit down and just start playing in different spaces. How the sounds they create are the result of the atmosphere they create in that space and how it makes them feel. What struck me about this was that it is exactly how I create my art. I just found the whole thing rather connected.
Below is Heima in its entirety as it was graciously uploaded by the band themselves to YouTube. It’s pretty amazing so give it a watch or better yet, go out and buy it.
Burke Shartsis