| |
This interview was made towards a concert named "String Lines", that took place in "Inbal Theatre" in Neve Tzedek , Tel Aviv.
1. How did you come up with the concept of a concert that combines music with visual art?
The idea of music interwoven with an image and a narrative always appealed to me. Several years ago I released a comic book with Ohad Tzophi, that was accompanied by a CD that expanded the narrative. It included an anthem for the imaginary city, "Sea Shadow" in which the story's protagonist lived.
The concert "String Lines" is less about a certain narrative, it is more experimental. It started with a wish of both me and the musician Ariel Lazarus to create a project that combines our two occupations. Every time he released an album and every time I published a new comic book, we both asked ourselves how to do it. This year we made a decision that it can work on a stage, and from that moment on we started to form a band for the concert.
2. How did the collaboration between you and the band began ?
Ariel asked musicians he appreciates and soon after the band was formed : Ariel plays the guitar, Eli Chantov that worked with Ariel on his second album plays the violin and electric guitar, Zeev Zilberman on the contrabass and Gonen Visel on ethnic percussions. During a few months of rehearsals we worked simultaneously: the band played and I drew. I used personal family photographs for visual inspiration for my work. The concept was to work together throughout the whole process and to absorb each other into our art, which I feel had a significant contribution to the final result.
3. Can you tell us briefly what will be included in the concert?
Behind the band there will be a screen that will show a video of my live painting. The band will play seven songs, while in the beginning of every new song the projected sheet will be blank. Until the end of the musical piece, the painting will be finished. The audience will witness the painting process, with its internal logic: a play of perspective, patches of colors, rhythm and movement.
4. During your creative process, what comes first – does the music inspire the art or do you select the music according to the themes of your works? How does the music inspire the colors and atmosphere of your work? |
|
Since it is an organic process it is hard to determine what came first. There are few works in which I can sense that the music set the tone. For example, a violin solo that from the minute I heard it made the strong colors fly onto the page. The live aspect of the concert gives room to a change of rhythm according to the atmosphere and vibes from the stage.
5. Many of your works are very personal. In "Who Are You Anyway" you tell a true story of self reflection and "Farm 54" that you wrote with your sister, Galit Seliktar, is named after your family home. Will the concert also include personal materials?
The visual inspiration in the concert is derived from old family photographs: the first image of the show is a portrait of my grandfather, who died many years ago, so the concert carries an emotional baggage. The second photograph is of my parents when they were young. The difference here is the absence of a narrative, it is very abstract. Although I see the connection between the paintings, the audience will comprehend them differently, as a combination between the painting and the music will create something entirely different.
6. Tell us about a concert the influenced you greatly
A concert of Tedosii Spasov. I saw him with Ariel in the Jazz Festival ten years ago. The players were entranced, the pianist went physically into the piano and continued to play. It was a surreal and moving experience for me.
7. What was the last concert you saw?
Joanna Newsome, an amazing artist that despite the crowded Opera house succeeded in conveying an intimate atmosphere.
8. Can you tell us about other projects you are working on at the moment?
Currently I am occupied with the extended version of "Who Are You Anyway" that will be published in France next year, in which I give the story a new meaning since I have a new perspective on both what happened and the book itself. I also continue with the character of Mongol to a second book, in which I continue to explore his family. There are several other projects that are yet to be talked about, however I will probably write about them in my blog: http://seliktar.blogspot.com
Gilad's official website: http://seliktar.carbonmade.com/
|