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Music, Pink and Blue No. 2

1918

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Georgia O’Keeffe, Music, Pink and Blue No. 2, 1918 91.90

Georgia O’Keeffe, Music, Pink and Blue No. 2, 1918. Oil on canvas, 35 × 29 1/8 in. (88.9 × 74 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Emily Fisher Landau in honor of Tom Armstrong 91.90

Georgia O’Keeffe was fascinated with what she called “the idea that music could be translated into something for the eye.” Modern artists such as O’Keeffe admired music because it is expressive and can communicate powerful emotions, even when it doesn’t have words or suggest specific images. For Music, Pink and Blue No.2, O’Keeffe was interested in the relationships between music, nature, color, and form.

O’Keeffe used organic shapes and vivid colors to suggest the forms she saw in nature. Soft shapes spread across the canvas from top to bottom in pink, blue, green, and lavender. The combination of colors and forms creates visual rhythms and harmonies similar to those you can hear in music.

listen

Georgia O’Keeffe, Music, Pink and Blue No.2, 1918

seeing what you hear

What you’ll need

Music player (ipod, stereo, radio), paper, and something to write with. You could use pencils and markers, or paint and brushes if you have them!

Georgia O’Keeffe sometimes used music as the inspiration for her abstract paintings. What is your favorite kind of music to listen to? Do you listen to music while you make art?

Turn on some of your favorite music, and find something to draw or paint with. If you have paint, be sure to have water and something to clean up with, like paper towels, after you’re done.
Listen carefully to the music. Think about what colors, shapes or lines the music reminds you of, or inspires for you. You might even close your eyes if that helps you imagine.
Using your brush, pencil, or marker, experiment with making lines, shapes, and gestures inspired by the music. Think about the rhythm of the music and how that might affect the shapes and lines you’re creating, how many there are, and how you’re moving to create them.
Experiment with changing the music you’re listening to, and continue drawing. You can adjust the volume of the music you’re listening to. What if it was really loud, or really quiet, how might that change what you’re drawing or painting? If you’re listening to rock and roll, or pop music, try listening to something very different, like classical, polka, or dance music. How does different music inspire you?

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