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Rachel K. Valice
Sister Lucia Treanor, FSE
WRT 150-42
20 October 2011
Making Music with Mayosky
"The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not mov'd with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils."
The Merchant Of Venice, Act V, scene i, lines 83-85 (Bloom)
Music is universal. Humans are evolutionarily and biologically wired to respond to music
(which explains Lorenzo’s quote above, as he comforts his beloved Jessica by saying that
although music makes her sad, it would be worse if she felt nothing at all). Every society and
culture throughout the ages has cultivated, developed, interpreted, and integrated music in
various ways. The combination of art and music going hand-in-hand has been unanimous since
the creation of each; perhaps it can be surmised that one was, in fact, born of the other. Similar to
the jazz painters of Detroit, where artists paint live on canvases at jazz band performances, no
one understands nor owns this union more than the artist of Music.
Music is an incomplete, in-progress 25-canvas painting by traveling muralist Michael J.
Mayosky currently being showcased outside the Big Old Building (B.O.B.) in Grand Rapids,
Michigan (See Appendix A). The larger-than-life mural encompasses stunning colors, live
performance techniques, and a puzzle-like enigma to intrigue the viewer. Abstract, surrealist
scenes of the Grand Rapids city skyline, a brightly-colored butterfly, a star-dusted galaxy, a
blues trumpeter, ethereal women, and numerous landscapes all collide in a marriage of unity and
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continuity that commence at the focal point: six paintings, set to the upper left center of the
whole composition, that compose the face and neck of Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous work, the
Mona Lisa (See Appendix B). When asked why he chose the Mona Lisa as a subject, Mayosky
explained that it made his work “unbiased” because it was a “safe” choice. As of October 2011,
Music only consists of 19 pieces as a result of the instability of Mayosky’s support frame on
which the masterpiece hangs (the uppermost right canvas blew off after a particularly strong
wind).
The artist was born in Kansas City, Missouri, but presently resides in Springfield, Illinois.
He makes a living by traveling across the country, on a commissional basis, to paint murals. He
is self-taught and has never received any formal training for his talent. He does, however, require
that he is able to paint along with music, saying that “music inspires all of [his] art” (Mayosky
Personal Interview). As the music slows, he steadies his hand, and as the music increases in
tempo, his painting becomes more frantic. His work echoes later stylings (colors, directions,
movement, flow, etc.) of the Surrealist era/movement of painting, such as Roberto Matta’s Elle
Loge La Folie (See Appendix C).
Part of what makes Music so successful is the process. Half-artistic endeavor and halflive performance, Mayosky creates each new piece in-person at the site, by painting with acryliclatex house paint on a spinning canvas, while music plays. He dances with the painting. The
music is often local bands performing live on stage next to Mayosky’s temporary “studio,” or
playing from his car radio, which he has been living in since before ArtPrize started, leaving only
to shower (Personal Interview). The canvas is able to spin, 360 degrees, because it is mounted on
a rotating axis on an easel. This gives the artist the ease and freedom to turn the image every
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which way as he works, resulting in the carefree and otherworldly rhythm of each individual
masterpiece.
Mayosky uses smaller pieces to create the bigger picture. If the viewer were to zoom in,
one image, or one canvas at a time, each individual component functions well on its own as a
work of art. Together, however, the combined visual pieces collaborate in such a way that
achieves more than a single canvas would. When asked the meaning of it all, Mayosky replied,
“I've been making it up as I go. I'm thinking of each painting separately. They all relate to music
and my experiences in some way ” (Personal Interview). The focus point of Mayosky’s Mona
Lisa consists of 6 canvases (7, if you count the detailing in the upper left), with each one created
by different strokes, colors, and styles. Her neck is abstract. The lower left of her face is a
smooth grayscale representation, while the opposite side is colored and less blended. Despite the
extravagant differences between each painting, the picture as a whole flows together perfectly as
a result of careful planning-ahead, execution, and a vision. Mayosky had described the Mona
Lisa as being a universal, “safe” and “nonreligious” focal point for his masterpiece (Mayosky
Personal Interview). This indirectly negative, yet passive reasoning leads one to wonder where
his true passion lies in making Music. The fact that Mayosky’s use of the Mona Lisa may have
been for purely political reasons may shed light on controversy in the art world. It is a wellknown fact that art is open to interpretation, and as such, in a city-wide competition that is open
to international artists and citizens, Mayosky’s reasoning for choosing a safe symbol could be
more social than artistic. To win the popular vote, the muralist could choose not only the most
famous painting in the world, but the most universally appealing and recognizable, and make it
his own. Despite this assumption, the artist himself has stated that he did not want to win, on
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account of his desire to return for ArtPrize in 2012 (Personal Interview). Perhaps it was simply
his desire to share his passion for music with the masses that projected his decision.
Colors play the most important part in Mayosky’s ambitious ArtPrize entry. The mural
hires a number of hues and ranges to gently prod the viewer through the work without boring the
eye. Some canvases employ soft, light, neutral, or dull colors, while others are wild and vibrant,
bursting with fluorescent, fiery energy. The color scheme of each canvas is also affected by (and
affects) what is being depicted; a cloudy landscape is depicted with a multitude of grays and
pale, steely blues, while a dancing scarlet-clad woman effortlessly glides through a neon cosmos
(a la Alexander Makhlaev’s surreal Katarsis; See Appendix D). The city of Grand Rapids, home
to ArtPrize, is portrayed as alive and wonderful as it truly is, with an exciting and broad
spectrum of colors and gradients. In light of Mayosky’s usage of saturated color (or lack thereof,
depending on the case), different emotions are evoked throughout each section of the work. A
pulsating orange butterfly could be uplifting and energetic, while a woman asleep amongst pastel
purples and blues could be calming and peaceful.
In my opinion, Music is a social and artistic experiment wherein the execution is more
valuable than the means to an end. Michael J. Mayosky’s demonstration of music’s inspiration is
mesmerizing, as the images he depicts spin in time to the tune. It is a truly revolutionary way to
allow lookers-on to feel the performance of art, indulging in not only their sense of sight, but
hearing and imagination as well. It always attracts quite a crowd to the courtyard outside the Big
Old Building, and each time I’ve visited to witness the work at its various stages of completion,
there have been people standing and staring in awe as they snap a photograph of this unusual and
unforgettable piece.
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Appendix A: Music (2011)
Michael J. Mayosky
Acrylic-latex (house) paint on canvas
The B.O.B., Grand Rapids
Photograph by Emily Peters
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Appendix B: Mona Lisa (detail)
Leonardo da Vinci (circa 1503-19)
Oil on poplar
Musee de Louvre, Paris
Art Clon.
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Appendix C: Elle Loge La Folie (1970)
Roberto Matta
Oil on canvas
Private collection, Italy
Art Experts, Inc.
Appendix D: Katarsis (1993)
Alexander Makhlaev
Oil on canvas
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Works Cited
Bloom, Harold. Bloom’s Shakespeare Through The Ages: The Merchant of Venice.
Infobase Publishing, 2007. Print.
Da Vinci, Leonardo. Mona Lisa. c. 1503-19. Musee de Louvre, Paris. Art Clon.
Web. 17 October 2011.
Makhlaev, Alexander. Katarsis. 1993. Web. 17 October 2011.
Matta, Roberto. Elle Loge La Folie. 1970. Private Collection, Italy. Art Experts, Inc.
Web. 17 October 2011.
Mayosky, Michael J. Music. 2011. The B.O.B., Grand Rapids. 17 October 2011.
Mayosky, Michael J. Personal Interview with Arianna Gaw. 6 October 2011.