The Pictures at an Exhibition Project

This exhibit was conceived by Susan Armington, a visual artist who always wondered what the pictures looked like that inspired the Russian composer, Modest Mussorgsky. Because little remains of the original artwork by Victor Hartmann, and the pieces that remain lack the vitality and power of Mussorgsky’s music, Armington came up with the idea of re-creating a roomful of new pictures to go with the music. In this exhibit, the pictures are created by ten artists; a different artist for each movement of the music.

The idea of including ten artists, instead of just one, adds a dimension to the experience by illuminating the variety of ways an artist can approach the project. Some artists focus on capturing the mood or feeling of the music, others focus on internal structure, and still others use the music as a point of departure for further artistic exploration. The project is more than simply putting Mussorgsky into images. It is about the interactions between music and art, and its interpretation. How can visual art parallel the experience of music? How can music shape visual art? What are the different ways artists and audience members experience this interaction?

The ten artists involved in this project all live in Minnesota. They work in a range of media including watercolor, textiles, pastels, collage, acrylics, oil, and mixed media. Contact information can be found on the individual artists' pages.

Special thanks go to Beth Cowart and the Minnesota Orchestra for the opportunity to exhibit at Orchestra Hall in conjunction with the performance of Pictures at an Exhibition by the Orchestra on March 7th and 9th, 2001. Thanks also to Anita Sue Kolman and Tom Polzine, for their help with the project.