23 - Laurie LeBreton

The Art 

 


“GETTING TO QUIET” by Laurie LeBreton
abaca, mixed media, 35 pieces, individual pieces 4″ – 8″ tall, 2011
laurielebreton.net


Laurie LeBreton writes…

The unattainable, the elusive, the indefinable: my art explores all these concepts.  Using my primary medium, handmade paper, I make paper sculptures constructed on forms and on armatures. With these sculptures I examine ideas of impermanence, the role of chance, the interplay of joy and sorrow and the futility of control.

As I created “Getting to Quiet” I thought back to when I was teaching.  I always knew children were learning when there was a quiet murmur in the room, when they were talking to each other occasionally, softly, in a calm way.
This sculpture is about that kind of calm.  It is not a silent calm, but rather a hushed and engaged one. It’s the kind of calm that we find in the best libraries.

“Please don’t touch, But feel free to blow gently”.

The Music

Music for Libraries - Hail Brian Eno

Helen Davey

"Music for Libraries" (for 5 voices, e-bow, piano:strings & keys,), is a sound-painting in direct response to Laurie LeBreton's "Getting to Quiet" . It is the 23rd week in the project "52 Sound-Paintings". more info here:
https://helendavey.com/blog/week-23-laurie-lebreton
Read more…

My eyes tend to hear soundscapes. When I saw and read about Laurie’s “Getting to Quiet” I explored the concepts and ideas Laurie has identified in her notes; music seems the perfect realm for these things methinks. I also related to her description of happy schoolrooms, when children are in the flow of learning with that calm buzz of synapses doing their thing.

Because of Laurie’s reference, initially I’d thought to work blowing across many water filled bottles (of different tones). However my out-of-practice embouchure and the unreliability of various bottle necks put that idea back on the shelf, so I turned elsewhere… namely the circle of 5ths  

I was pondering circles and came accross an animated image of the circle of fifths, which when captured as a still image, resembled some of Laurie’s shapes;  On a whim, I began to experiment with combining curved and circular motifs. I drew on the circle of 5ths as a musical cycle that ultimately brings my Anglo ears to a sense of quiet.     

Laurie LeBreton-s Getting to Quiet-detail

Circle of 5ths-image by music motion.com