Output details

Chromatic Fields - artist book and exhibitions

This research collaboration between Bullen and composer Jamie Croft explores the relationship between music and drawing, focusing in particular on processes and structures of composition. Inspired by twentieth-century composers Hauer and Feldman, this research brings together drawing, printmaking, musical notation and live music to reconceive the idea of the limited edition artist’s book.

‘Chromatic Fields’ consists of a single drawing that is then manipulated through printmaking techniques to create a sequence of structurally related images. Printmaking techniques, such as rotation, are then used to transform the original drawing, highlighting the idea that an artist’s book is neither unique nor reproduction. Building on the methodological approach found in the works of John Cage, Bullen employs a structured drawing process that toys with ideas of order (each pencil must be used once before any can be reused) and chance (the order of the pencils not predetermined).

Croft’s musical compositions complement Bullen’s structured drawing process through the use of a modified version of the twelve-tone row technique that requires all 88 notes on the piano to be played once before being repeated. Removing all indicators of performance from the score, leaving simply stave and note, the visual quality of the music is reinforced creating a series of representational dots that echo and are reminiscent of Bullen’s drawing.

Music and visual representations are then recombined to create a limited edition artist’s book that incorporates blank pages to indicate moments of silence and prints that shimmer under different lighting conditions, fusing the boundaries between book and score, between sound and vision, and between aural and haptic experiences. ‘Chromatic Fields’ was exhibited in both the UK and New Zealand and has been discussed by Bullen at the International Multi-Disciplinary Printmaking Conference, Monash University (2011) and at Northland Polytechnic, New Zealand (2011). SEE DIGITAL PORTFOLIO.