It never ceases to amaze us how music notes can sometimes take shape and come to life. Artist Erika Iris Simmons gives us a glimpse of what it might look like if music notes looked more like they sounded. The rows of notes, seemingly so uniform and orderly, form complex and lively aural atmospheres that burst off the page in these works below.
The artist, who has also made portraits out of cassette tape, possesses an artistic drive to "take things apart and re-arrange the pieces, cutting away portions when necessary," as she says on her website. Her collages cut and paste sheet music to form images that are not contained to the straight lines of the staff. "Amazing Grace" takes the shape of Martin Luther King Jr., while Beethoven's bust emerges from one of his symphony masterpieces, and a trumpeting angel floats above "Serenade No. 10." Simmons gives music notes a chance to be viewed not just as symbols of aural art but works of visual art themselves. They are music to our eyes!
Check out Simmons' sheet music collages below:
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