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  • February 18, 2011
  • Christine Davis Mantai

 

Notations Artist Theresa Sauer

“Notations 21” author Theresa Sauer is showing her work, which explores visual music and creativity, in the gallery at Rockefeller Arts Center.

“I’ve always been a musicologist,” Sauer said. Below, is an inset from her painting.

Inset

What started as a project for a graphic design course has grown into a book, a touring art exhibition and more for “Notations 21” author Theresa Sauer.

Works from Sauer’s book are currently on display at the SUNY Fredonia Art Gallery, located on the main level of Rockefeller Arts Center, in an exhibition entitled “Notations 21: Exploring Visual Music and Creativity.”

“I’ve always been a musicologist,” Sauer said. “I was in education for many years. When I went back to school to study graphic design, I needed a project for one of my courses. The professor suggested I incorporate music with some visual elements.”

When she started the project, Sauer found inspiration in a 1968 book by composer and musical innovator John Cage entitled “Notations.” Cage had compiled illustrated scores for music by composers he considered to be the greatest of that era.

Sauer began searching for musical scores in graphic notation that had been created in the 30-plus years after Cage’s book was published. It proved to be a fruitful process.

“At one point, I had more than 500 scores on my desktop,” Sauer said. “My daughter looked at it and said I had a book.’”

Sauer agreed with the observation and soon found a publisher for what became “Notations 21.” In the end, the book contained works by 165 composers from 45 countries.

A selection of works from the book will be on display at SUNY Fredonia through Feb. 27. Gallery hours are 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 2 to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Art Gallery Director Tina Hastings said “Notations 21: Exploring Visual Music and Creativity” ties into SUNY Fredonia’s Convocation theme of “Faces and Phases of Creativity.” Hastings explained Sauer’s book was brought to her attention by Robert Deemer, an assistant professor of composition in the School of Music.

“I loved the works in the book and I loved the idea behind them,” Hastings said.

Sauer hopes those who view the SUNY Fredonia exhibition will be inspired to take a deeper look.

“I want them to want to know more – to want to hear the music, to want to see more scores,” Sauer said.

And there will be more to come – Sauer said she has many more scores ready to publish.

“‘Notations 21’ is not just a single book,” Sauer said. “Now, it’s a project.”
 

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