{"id":98037,"date":"2023-07-28T15:24:31","date_gmt":"2023-07-28T19:24:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=98037"},"modified":"2023-07-28T15:24:31","modified_gmt":"2023-07-28T19:24:31","slug":"interview-artist-paula-arciniega-marriage-visual-art-music-nyo-canadas-aurora-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2023\/07\/28\/interview-artist-paula-arciniega-marriage-visual-art-music-nyo-canadas-aurora-tour\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Artist Paula Arciniega On The Marriage Of Visual Art And Music \u2014 And NYO Canada\u2019s Aurora Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
The Catacombs by Paula Arciniega (Image courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mussorgsky\u2019s iconic Pictures at an Exhibition was originally inspired by paintings. Now, the paintings of Toronto artist Paula Arciniega add a visual component to performances of the piece by the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (NYO Canada) on their Aurora summer 2023 tour<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The connection came about as a result of Paula\u2019s two decades old musical connections with James Sommerville, a musician and conductor of the Hamilton Philharmonic from 2007 to 2015. From a musical connection, he became a fan of her paintings. \u201cI think he owns five of my pieces,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

In November 2022, Sommerville was selected as NYO Canada’s inaugural Artistic Director. Paula recounts that during an idle telephone conversation, he happened to ask what she was working on. When he heard it was Pictures at an Exhibition, the connection was made. She was happy to be working with the NYO Canada. \u201cIt brings the most talented youth from everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement, the NYO Canada said, \u201cWe are thrilled to have Paula as the commissioned artist for our highly anticipated 2023 Aurora Tour. Her stunning Debussy \u2014 La Mer artwork will be featured as the tour artwork, encapsulating the spirit of this year’s Aurora theme. Paula’s current project revolves around a series of paintings representing Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky\/Ravel, the iconic musical composition we will perform throughout the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paula Arciniega<\/h3>\n

Paula\u2019s journey is one from music major to painter \u2014 albeit with a musical leaning. \u201cIt was actually Marc Chagall that took credit for that,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

As a student working towards a Masters Degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, she went to an exhibition of Chagall\u2019s work. \u201cI loved singing and I loved performing,\u201d she says, but at the same time, something had changed. \u201cIt took my breath away. It changed me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She went on to earn that Masters in 2004, and has performed with Toronto City Opera, the Hamilton Philharmonic, and Modesto Opera, among others. At the same time, she plunged herself into creating both works and a career in painting. \u201cI just had to paint,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Her then-future husband gifted her with her first canvases and art supplies, and she never looked back. \u201cThis feels like something that I’m not responsible for exactly, but I just had to do,\u201d she says. Early pieces sold well to friends and at exhibitions, and they all had one thing in common. \u201cAll the pieces were inspired by music.\u201d<\/p>\n

As she practised painting, she immersed herself in chamber music, choral music, orchestral work \u2013 anything she could find. In the meantime, she\u2019d moved with her partner from California to Toronto. Soon after arriving, and wanting to establish herself with a specific theme, she began her Mahler Project, in which she painted pieces inspired by all his symphonies and lieder.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet’s tackle these big works,\u201d she recalls thinking. \u201cLet me challenge myself as an artist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pictures at an Exhibition, with its added meta paintings-about-music-about-paintings appeal, was always on the list, but she wanted the timing for such a project to be right. Listening to Baba Yaga, she thought, \u201cYou can see it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"
Baba Yaga by Paula Arciniega (Image courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As for how she interprets the music in painting, it\u2019s a matter of the feelings she gets from the work. \u201cI’m not a trained artist. This is all just me figuring out.\u201d She doesn\u2019t call herself a realist per se, although there are elements of realism in her pieces.<\/p>\n

With Pictures at an Exhibition, she was inspired by Mussorgsky\u2019s own approach to interpreting the paintings he\u2019d seen. It\u2019s a marriage of creative arts that seems to be a popular feature of Paula\u2019s work. She says her sales are driven by the connection. \u201cThey see the music,\u201d she explains of her buyers. \u201cI see music as colour. It’s an incredible mapping when I experience it.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also enjoys the fact that she\u2019s introduced many, especially young people, to the music via her art. \u201cWe can reinvigorate them,\u201d she says of the reciprocal effect.<\/p>\n

Pictures at an Exhibition<\/h3>\n

Paula Arciniega\u2019s Pictures at an Exhibition Reimagined turns Mussorgsky\u2019s 1874 musical work back into painting, but its origins are connected to visual art as well.<\/p>\n

Modest Mussorgsky\u2019s musical pieces were based on the work of his friend, Viktor Hartmann. Viktor, an artist and architect, also Mussorgsky\u2019s friend and collaborator, had died suddenly in 1873. The original title of the suite, in fact, was Pictures at an Exhibition \u2013 A Remembrance of Viktor Hartmann.<\/p>\n

A memorial exhibition of Hartmann\u2019s work, including more than 400 pieces, was held at the Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg in February and March 1874. In addition to attending, Mussorgsky contributed two paintings he\u2019d been given. Inspired by the experience, he completed his score in just a few weeks.<\/p>\n

The piece incorporates ten titled movements, with a Promenade interlude between each of them. It follows, in music, his walk through of the show of Hartmann\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

Paula Arciniega\u2019s pieces from the Mussorgsky series, including Baba Yaga, The Castle, Catacombs and The Tuileries, will be on display in an exhibition at NYO Canada\u2019s upcoming Toronto concert reception on August 2. All the paintings are for sale.<\/p>\n

Tickets for the July 29 show in Saint John, and the August 2 Toronto show are on sale [HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/p>\n

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Sign up for the Ludwig van Daily \u2014 classical music and opera in five minutes or less <\/em>HERE<\/em><\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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