Michael Kellner
michaelkellnerart.com
michaelkellnerart.com
O Sweet Solace of Our Labors, planned install 2019-2020
O Sweet Solace of Our Labors, looping video
O Sweet Solace of Our Labors
In its original form, this work has three components. The first is a drawing of the title of the work, completed in nonreproducible graphite on 9” x 12” Rives BFK (presented in an 11” x14” white frame). The second component is as a 6” x 9” plastic sign, with the title of the work presented in raised letters and Braille. Finally, the third component is a small transistor radio that utilizes a micro-USB card to play a three-minute melody followed by 12 minutes of silence, so that the work repeats every 15 minutes. The melody is created from Morse code pitched to notes on the piano. The Morse code translation is the title of the piece repeated 12 times.
The title of the work is an altered translation from the Latin found on the G. Schirmer musical scores. The original is a translation from a Homerian ode, “O sweet solace of my labors.” As a young pianist, this phrase was relayed to me as a way of describing the difficult yet rewarding task of mastering a piece of music. I switched the “my” to “our” to better address a communal idea of creativity; this is also why the piece is not only visual but audible and tactile as well. For me, this communal creativity is rooted in the home and care ethics, which not only allows creativity to occur but fosters the conditions that sustain it.
To bring the original idea into this digital exhibition space, I have included not only images of the planned install of the work but a new video. The video contains the Morse code melody with the accompanying text. For the viewer at home, I hope you will loop the work. And, for context, I made this in between my partner working, my kids in the background, the laundry piled up, and dishes in the sink. We are continually laboring, counting our blessings as we can.
In its original form, this work has three components. The first is a drawing of the title of the work, completed in nonreproducible graphite on 9” x 12” Rives BFK (presented in an 11” x14” white frame). The second component is as a 6” x 9” plastic sign, with the title of the work presented in raised letters and Braille. Finally, the third component is a small transistor radio that utilizes a micro-USB card to play a three-minute melody followed by 12 minutes of silence, so that the work repeats every 15 minutes. The melody is created from Morse code pitched to notes on the piano. The Morse code translation is the title of the piece repeated 12 times.
The title of the work is an altered translation from the Latin found on the G. Schirmer musical scores. The original is a translation from a Homerian ode, “O sweet solace of my labors.” As a young pianist, this phrase was relayed to me as a way of describing the difficult yet rewarding task of mastering a piece of music. I switched the “my” to “our” to better address a communal idea of creativity; this is also why the piece is not only visual but audible and tactile as well. For me, this communal creativity is rooted in the home and care ethics, which not only allows creativity to occur but fosters the conditions that sustain it.
To bring the original idea into this digital exhibition space, I have included not only images of the planned install of the work but a new video. The video contains the Morse code melody with the accompanying text. For the viewer at home, I hope you will loop the work. And, for context, I made this in between my partner working, my kids in the background, the laundry piled up, and dishes in the sink. We are continually laboring, counting our blessings as we can.