Artistic Graphic Musical Scores Influenced by Tantric Art

Leonardo, Vol, 14, No, 2, pp, 122-124, Inl. Printed in Great Britain, 0024-094XIK 1/020122-03$02,00/0© Pergamon Press Ltd, ARTISTIC GRAPHIC MUSICAL SCORES INFLUENCED BY TANTRIC ART Robert Donnini* 1. In 1977 I produced four musical scores conceived on two distinct planes: musical and graphic, First, I chose the sequence of notes that comprises the scores in such a way that a given unique sound pattern would apply in each score, Second, I made a graphic construction for each score based on the notes in the desired sequence and the manner in which they are to be played either on musical instruments or sung, Later, in 1979, I combined the four scores (labeled T, LTR, FTR and BTR) on a single piece of sheet music. The graphic representation of the combination, entitled "Tunedless'. is shown in Fig, I accompanied by photographic copies offigurative depictions by Shuwalow on a Greek vase, an oinochoe (5th century Be), and of the engraving 'Melencolia I' (1514) by Albrecht Durer and by two philosophical quotations in the lower two corners and by verbal instructions in the center. The series of four scores is related to my visual artwork, which is not surprising, because my activity in both visual art and music are not separated, There is a common thread in both of them reflecting an Eastern influence especially from Tibetan mandalas and from Tantric art, yet I classify my work as Western, The musical score represented in Fig, I and the collage in Fig 2 (cf. color plate) are presented as examples, slR . II " "". 11., .. In the pr.. ••nt 1ty... hMUlll, ("I ",tn.'''1n) .......".r "",..1.",, ,ro,r•••l",I, .... _-.tn, "Uh 1 'I'll. _til lOr ••,. It , •• t,,,u. , Id en .& (LA' 440 I 11-'1Ift.' '0.1., ._,1l1 0_111 " 1aUII.noe' .ft. _lUI • tIInl _ ••••n an.r ...... lui., artI,Il.1 ••11,.., n .••n, ... tAr •• , AI ...,. "lll~ r th_" "II. t t. t •• -1.", ••• lu .. 11 t1 ttl.n t r••llo. ., til ••••• tt •• t•• rl ••u-'ont,) score Fig, L 'Tunedlcss', graphical musical score, prin!,]O 42 em, 1977-79. 'Visual artist and musician, Via Gramsci 353 A, 50019 Sesto Fior, Florence, Italy. (Received 5 Nov, 1979) 122 123 Fig. 3. (Left) Sry Yantra. (Right) 'Tunedless T. graphical musical score. 5. The graphic part of the score is meant to summarize the music to be produced. There is an apparent symmetry in the ~rawings, but, actually, they are asymmetrical, with the lines having a forced, shifting quality and exhibiting unexpected variations of sex symbols, characteristics that are meant to give the drawings a sense of energy and vitality. One can appreciate this by comparing the graphic part of my scores with typical static diagrams of Tantric Yantra (Fig. 3). T. W. Adorno states that 'sexual union is the contrary of relaxation, it is a happy tension as every slavish work is an unhappy strain' [19]. The sexual symbols in my drawings are intended to be linked to this idea oftension. In Tantra drawings 'the sexual impulses become a pathway for [reality] ... its fulfillment lies in the realisation of one's potential with the experience of joy. During sexual union [we] withdraw our mind from our environment ... ' Sex is considered the physical base of creation and evolution (Fig. 4). In my music the insistent quality semitones S in the following manner for pieces 'T' 'L TR' and 'FTR': to So t. to So to t; and for pieces 'BTR': s, t. 't, t, s. t, t. In the graphic part of the scores, wave lines were used along with straight lines, triangles and circles. The use of circles is meant to convey the idea that the music is to be repeated as long as wished. When persons are exposed for a long period to an unchanged stimulus such as a constant tone or a fixed concentric visual pattern, it has been noted that they tend to lose a~areness of their surrounds. Similarly, repeated a?d sustained sounds can produce in listeners a particular kind of mood characterized by a loss of conscious attention. Meditation in the East makes use of this effect. I do not...