The Influence of Music on Visual Arts (& vice versa)

Music has influenced entire art movements. Music has changed individual artists. How does music influence you and your art? It is an honor to have Santiago Hernandez, a visual artist and drummer, & university educator, for our speaker. Santiago has long been interested in musical structure as inspiration for his work. He is a huge fan of jazz music and in particular the music of artists such as Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins. The playfulness, angularity, and unpredictability of their compositions and solos are of particular interest and inform Santiago’s approach to his compositions. Santiago will also touch upon architecture and its connections to music and how he interprets the architectural images that he works from in his more recent paintings. His presentation invites you to consider the influence of music on your art process and/or final work. Two NAA visual artist-musician members will share their stories of their visual art – music connection. Others who are a visual artist-musician (including listening) and want to share their story should contact Cindy Cole (cynthiahcole@gmail.com). Bio: Santiago Hernandez studied at the Arts Students League prior to receiving his BFA in Studio Art, School of Visual Arts, NY, and his MFA in Painting, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL. He is the recipient of numerous grants and awards. He has exhibited widely and his art is in the collections of RISD Museum of Art, Providence, RI; Orlando Museum of Art, and Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Provincetown, MA, as well as numerous corporate and private collections. He has more than 20 years’ experience teaching and developing new courses at the college level at Lesley University (Sr. Lecturer) and at Mass College of Art (Adjunct Professor). He teaches Advanced Projects in Painting, Abstract Painting, and Intro to Sculpture among other courses. As a professional drummer and percussionist, he specializes in playing jazz, Afro-Cuban, Latin Jazz, Latin Funk, and Blues. He performs regularly in the Boston area with various ensembles. He also teaches percussion privately, in music studios, and conducts workshops.