UC San Diego

In the past six years, I dedicated my creative work to the reconstruction in the sonic domain of an experience that was triggered by contemplating abstract paintings, most prominently the works of Simon Hantaï. In this dissertation essay, I describe the creative process – from laying out the motivational sources, to analysis of the phenomenon and consideration of the path from the visual to the sonic domain, and the articulation of an artistic compositional language.

Two musical compositions are discussed in greater detail: “Learning from the Laughing Man”, for a pianist and a four-channel fixed media part, and “Nefakh” for large orchestra. Both pieces are connected to works by Simon Hantaï and their examination displays two different paths towards composing music that responds to “The Hantaï Effect”.