These eight instruments are unlike anything you’ve ever seen; the way the colours dance across the violins’ bodies create a new type of musical art.
Alberta artists painted seven well-used violins and one cello for a University of Lethbridge Conservatory of Music fundraiser on May 11.
Instead of laying the fiddles from the Conservatory’s 150-instrument collection to waste, the institute had another idea.
“Some of them over the years have become unplayable, and so we were like, ‘What should we do with them?'” said Conservatory director Breeanne Fuller on Saturday.
“So we approached a few artists and it kind of literally snowballed where people were like, ‘Oh my gosh, I want to be part of this!’ And we ended up with some really big-name artists who wanted to contribute — it’s been pretty unbelievable.”
Painters include Kari Lehr, Karen Tamminga-Paton and Tony Partridge among others.
It might be possible to squeeze a tune out of the stunning stringed instruments, but that’s not their main purpose anymore, Fuller said.
“They were just instruments that we felt didn’t have the best sound and they’ve just been abused over the years,” Fuller noted. “So they technically could still be used, but they’re definitely more like an art piece now.”
Each painting is different, with designs featuring bears, birds, flowers, abstract impressionism and doll hands. There’s even a cello converted into a shelf with a clock at its centre.
“To get your hands on this original piece that will never be turned into a print — I mean for collectors, this would be a one-of-a-kind item,” Fuller said.
“I think it’s a conversation starter, too. If someone picks up one of these items and has it in their home, it’s like, who wouldn’t ask more questions about it?”
Fuller appreciates the hours of work that went into creating such meticulous art.
“Some of the artists have commented that they feel like if I were to put a value on it, they feel like the amount of time that they spent, it would be $1,200 to $1,500 each,” Fuller said.
“It’s just really generous to know that they have taken that much time and made such a perfect creation.”
Intensive youth program
The money from the first-ever fundraiser supports subsidies for the Young Artists Music Academy, a performance-based program for teenage musicians who sing or play strings, percussion or piano.
Fuller founded the classical music enrichment initiative in 2017. About 35 students spend five to seven hours a week building skills and being “immersed in what they love,” Fuller said.
Because the program is so intensive, it costs over $3,000 per student per year. The subsidy gets it down to about $600.
There are no minimum bids at the live auction, which is called Piano by Request, and advanced bids will be accepted until May 10.
Comments