Modal Sketches
‘Modal Sketches’ is based on the studio album Kind of Blue, by American Jazz trumpeter-composer Miles Davis. Recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City, it is a homage to his life, his experiences, his influences and most importantly, his practice. His work exceeds profound excellence because of his creative approach to the album.
Kind of Blue is that album which encouraged me to think of Jazz differently. What intrigued me was it's absolute brilliance in its melody and composition as well as the emotions it provoked within me. It was the first Jazz album I had heard and appreciated, and I wished to express that through this composition.
This photo composite is an insight into the creative mind palace of the artist. It encompasses narratives of his life, his inspirations, and his art, which he pursued in his later years. The central geometrical structure is an icosahedron with Davis's art superimposed onto each of the visible faces.
It represents the creative soul in the form of a geometrical orb, which powers the entire composition. Surrounding it are elements of his life, small snippets which proved significance to me, pertaining to his heroin addiction, romantic relations, racism and creative freedom. Overall, the setting is suspended in space, depicting the out of body experience one feels when listening to the album.
It represents the creative soul in the form of a geometrical orb, which powers the entire composition. Surrounding it are elements of his life, small snippets which proved significance to me, pertaining to his heroin addiction, romantic relations, racism and creative freedom. Overall, the setting is suspended in space, depicting the out of body experience one feels when listening to the album.
I wanted to create a surrealist depiction of his music, with hints of modernity, coupled with
the eternal feeling of living through this album during any time period.
I began this composition by exploring the most impactful music to me, visually and emotionally. After skimming through my playlists, I narrowed my search down to two songs; The Raven That Refused to Sing, by Steven Wilson and Miles Davis’s album, Kind of Blue. These options reminded me of the times I strongly resonated and visualized stunning imagery in my head, all composed by me.
While I took my research further, I realized my deeper connection to the visuals associated with Kind of Blue. It was the first Jazz album I had ever heard and loved; thus, it had a special connection to the birth of my interest in the genre. Therefore, I decided to create my composition based on a homage to Miles Davis, his life, his inspirations and the beginning of his creative peak through music.
I watched a documentary on his life, read articles about the release of the album, and dove deep into the creative energy surrounding this fascinating artist and his work. The visuals in my head became more vivid the more I listened to the album.
I explored numerous grids in Matila Ghyka’s book on Harmonic Symmetry and tried to understand the importance of grids in space. I was introduced to complex grids with attention paid to pentagons and pentagrams. Furthermore, I discovered the Icosahedron, a 20-faced geometric shape. It’s relevance to my final composition was intriguing, as I explored the significance of the number 20, its relation to the Sacral Chakra in the human body and its connection to flow, water, creativity and harmony, similar to what Miles Davis tried to achieve in his album.
Furthermore, the idea of harmonic symmetry, as explored by Jay Hambidge and Ghyka was interesting to me, as it resonated with Davis’s music sheets for the album which embodied harmonic modality, allowing for the album to explore the highest level of creative freedom in Jazz at the time.
Initially, I started my research on how root rectangles and phi rectangles overlapped create interesting grid structures for my compositions. I realized the more complex they get, the more difficult it is to create work around them. There was beauty in the simplicity of the grids when not overlapped, or when placed in certain positions to create an aesthetically pleasing visual as well as a connecting network of baroque and sinister angles.
I explored with root 2 and phi rectangles, carefully overlapping them to create manageable patterns which fit with the work I wanted to create.
Exploring how illustration works in the field of expression and communication expanded my viewpoints on what illustration means to a designer and artist. With a brand new and intriguing concept introduced to me, I was initially skeptical of my ability to create digital compositions in the span of five weeks. My weak points lay in animation (which was the most challenging aspect of this assignment).
Since my comfort lay in analog work, strongly resonating with paint, clay modelling and pen work, I found myself surprised by the work I had put up on the final day of the class. My digital skills were not a strength at first, but soon became a great asset to my work and portfolio. I was immensely grateful for this opportunity to challenge myself to do something like photo compositing.
The explorations proved to be intense work, coupled with great fun. I enjoyed every class and realized how incredible the world must be if I can learn so much in such little time. Building my skills was a process I would gladly engage with, so long as I am learning, my creative output will organically present itself in the work I do.
I wish to take this forward in the work that I do –combining my analog work with my digital renders is something I will explore further. I want to see the potential of what I can create in different contexts using this method of illustration. I enjoy music, perhaps exploring album art and concept work for various kinds of genres and lyrics is something I can explore.
