Notations 21

Notations 21

These images are from Notations 21, a great book I found whilst faffing away hours in the design section of Kinokuniya. I've always been intrigued as to how music can manifest in written or artistic form, and musicologist Teresa Sauer has tried to answer this in her research and resulting publication.

The above works are actually the visual mind-maps of composers putting together their scores. Taken from the website:

"In 1968, composer and musical innovator John Cage compiled examples of music by the best composers of his time: Milton Babbitt, Leonard Bernstein, George Crumb, Luc Ferrari, Igor Stravinsky and the Beatles. They were presented at random, with guidance only from the I Ching (in typical Cage fashion) with only a few words of description. This book became an instant classic, an introduction for the public at large to modern music, and the fascinating, innovative forms of notation that had only just started to emerge.

Notations 21 is a modern compendium and anthology, deriving its inspiration from Cage's seminal work. Thousands of new composers are creating scores, the likes of which Cage could have never anticipated, that are graphic in nature, liberated from the traditional staff, and rival the best visual art in their aesthetic value."

Ok, at first I picked the book up only because I saw some of the images as great tattoo inspiration. Then I went back and bought it, I was so fascinated by the concept. The website is quite informative, with bio's on the composers and audio/video links so you can actually put some music to the pictures.

E.