What would Frank Sinatra’s song ‘New York, New York’ look like if it were a picture? Eleven students from the University of Oldenburg have interpreted pieces of music of their own choosing using artistic media of their own choosing.
The results include paintings, drawings, photo collages and sculptures. The works are on display until 5 November in the exhibition ‘And I Paint These Songs’ in Lecture Theatre Centre A14.
Under the guidance of lecturer Natascha Kaßner from the Institute of Art and Visual Culture, the students each developed their own artistic concept during the 2014/15 winter semester. As an introductory exercise, Kaßner played a sound clip from the film *High Noon*, which the participants transformed into a series of images. Having thus been made more aware of sound, they then set about creating their own works.
The students chose their own pieces of music. Some opted for classics such as “Teddy Bear” by Elvis Presley or “Kinder” by Bettina Wegner. But modern songs such as “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley or “Schüttel deinen Speck” by Peter Fox also proved popular. With the help of sketches, they fleshed out their ideas and discussed them within the group. “It’s very important to me that the students don’t feel they have to fulfil a set task, but that they have the freedom to create their own work,” says Kaßner.
The results are on display until 5 November. Building A14 at Uhlhornsweg 86 is open on weekdays from 6 am to 8 pm. The exhibition “Und ich male diese Lieder” is taking place as part of the 5th Oldenburg Drawing Festival “ausgezeichet! Schwarmzeichen”.
