Look and Listen | Escape

Experience the Hood Museum's collection in new ways while listening to music. Considering the theme of "escape," Devon Mifflin '21 paired three works of art with songs. 

William Louis Sonntag, Italian Lake with Classical Ruins, 1858

William Louis Sonntag, Italian Lake with Classical Ruins, 1858, oil on canvas

"Mirage" by M83 amplifies the otherworldly atmosphere of William Louis Sonntag's Romantic landscape painting. Like a mirage, as suggested by the song's title, Sonntag's imagined scene feels pure, placid, and heavenly. As you listen to the gentle reverberations, allow your eyes to drift into the far background of Sonntag's composition. 

Image: William Louis Sonntag, Italian Lake with Classical Ruins, 1858, oil on canvas.

Hiroshi Yoshida, Seta Bridge, 1933

Hiroshi Yoshida, Seta Bridge, 1933, color woodcut on wove paper

The cadence of the piano in "Patience" by The Lumineers complements the rippling and reflective water in Seta Bridge by Hiroshi Yoshida. As your eyes adjust to the composition and absorb its detail and nuance, the pace of the song increases. We look onto the scene from a distance, noticing the purr of activity on the bridge and in the town through the wise and twisted branches of the old tree pictured.

Image: Hiroshi Yoshida, Seta Bridge, 1933, color woodcut on wove paper.

Maxfield Parrish, Hunt Farm (Daybreak), 1948

Maxfield Parrish, Hunt Farm (Daybreak), 1948, oil on Masonite

As you observe the serene beauty of an early morning bucolic landscape in Hunt Farm (Daybreak) by Maxfield Parrish, consider the narrative of homecoming in "Welcome Home, Son" by Radical Face. Sunlight consumes the clouds, rising over and illuminating the pasture to start a new morning, and "the days blur into one." Radical Face's song transports you back into the past tying home to the memories it holds. 

Image: Maxfield Parrish, Hunt Farm (Daybreak), 1948, oil on Masonite.

"Look and Listen" is a student playlist project. Think of how your own favorite songs could fit with a work of art and share with us on any social media platform by tagging @HoodMuseum or using the hashtag #HoodMuseum.

Written by Devon Mifflin '21, Levinson Intern for Campus Engagement at the Hood Museum of Art in 2019-20

Escape

 

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Written April 09, 2020