Consert 1904

Curator: My gut reaction is... silence. Utter, monumental silence emanating from that gaping dark mouth. Editor: Indeed. Here we have "Consert," created in 1904 by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis. It's a drawing, a rather evocative one, executed in coloured pencils and pastel. What strikes you about it beyond the, ah, impressive silence? Curator: The scale, maybe? It feels vast, like this immense face is built into the landscape itself, a primal deity humming its lonely tune across epochs. Editor: Interesting. Čiurlionis was deeply involved with Symbolism; he sought to express abstract concepts through sensory forms. We see it here, this idea of music visualized—or perhaps, more accurately, sound made visible. Curator: Visible, yes, but is it music or is it a scream? That dark orifice... it could swallow a whole symphony or birth a primal shriek that shatters stars. And that single star hovering above, is it about to be devoured? Editor: The artist associated colors and musical tones. He composed symphonic poems, attempted to bring musical structure to painting. It's less about consuming, more about harmony. The "Concert" may symbolize the unified harmony of the cosmos through sound, where everything plays its part in grand creation. Curator: Harmony with a hefty dose of existential dread, wouldn't you say? I keep coming back to that cavernous mouth... there's a rawness that’s less divine orchestra, more cosmic primal therapy. Editor: But don't you think that tension is precisely what makes it so compelling? That Čiurlionis isn't presenting some saccharine celestial choir, but something far more ambiguous and demanding? Curator: Ambiguous to say the least! I still hear the echoes, less of violins, more of… a soul laid bare. Editor: And in its raw emotional honesty, it mirrors the turmoil and yearning of its time, a period grappling with rapid social changes and psychological self-discovery. A visual poem, haunting, but ultimately... revealing. Curator: Revealing... yes, revealing a raw nerve of the universe, scraped against the bone of existence. Thanks for pointing me back to harmony.