Ahhh..... Leonard Cohen. I was soothed by his voice, just reading your letter, Robert.

Maybe Leonard expresses what the painters' creativity is, in contrast to a strictly photographic representation. We "alter" things, leave unfinished certain lines, change the color a bit to intensify and express our emotion. even misrepresent. Some people would judge what we do to be imperfect, because it is not an exact likeness. But, according to Cohen, "There is a crack in everything. That's where the light comes in."
Exactly!

I don't agree or understand with Leonardo when he said that our own opinions deceive us. I find that when I arrive at an opinion, it strengthens me. Anyone care to elucidate?

Your words about Leonard Cohen are right to the point imo. I saw Cohens concert in Bruge, Belgium at the beginning of July. You can believe it or not but after a whole day of pouring rain the late evening sun came through the clouds (it was an open air concert) when he sang: ""There is a crack in everything. That's where the light comes in."

Dont get me wrong: I'm not superstitious or something...it was just a nice magical moment :-)

Robert, when you said "music moves us in a way that visual art cannot do", it reminded me of a cd about sound that I have been listening to "Giving Voice to the Heart" in which she (Pam Gerrrand) reminds us that sound connects right to the heart, but visuals are connected to the brain. I think from there it is a choice if we let (the art) go to the heart!

I believe Leonard Cohen was being sarcastic when he said he was "blessed with a golden voice." He has commented on his lack of vocal skills, laughing a few years ago that "only in Canada" could he be named Male Vocalist of the Year. Despite these limitations, or maybe because of them, his voice and words ring true. I have enjoyed listening to many of his songs sung by "better" singers, beautiful music beautifully rendered. Yet I prefer Leonard's versions. Interpretations of art can be magnificent, but the authentic is usually the most satisfying.

Leonard Cohen...What an amazing man.....he says it all. and so articulately....... In this piece the fact that History repeats itself and that there is nothing new under the sun (but oh how he says it)

True poetry is art, true art is poetry. Both sustain the heart.

I think that painting is greater than poetry. . . note, I said "poetry", and not "music", because language is not static, and the meanings of words, and phrases changes over time, while the painting remains exactly as the artist finished it. The painting gives us a glimpse into the state of the artist's perception of the scene, exactly as he saw it at the time of the labour. Therefore, painting is better.

At one time I looked at a painting and immediately thought I got the message. It seemed clear to me what the image was trying to say. But is that really the case? Was I actually getting it or was I, as we all sometime do, see what we wanted to see. I've since learned that if twenty people look at a picture, it's quite probable to get twenty different opinions of what is being looked at. Also how certain are we that we are getting what was intended by the painter? I've sold many paintings and I can't tell you the amount of times and different responses I received from buyers. Some tell me that I captured the mood, or the expression was right on the mark. The “sadness,” “happiness,” the “quiet contemplation,” or whatever was captured perfectly. I didn't paint those images with those particular moods in mind. Maybe the "words in my picture" are misleading or conversely give a message different than I intend.

I give much thought to naming my paintings appropriately, but I wonder in so doing am I not cutting off some contact with some people in the process. A connection to someone who will look at a piece and not respond due to the name I've given it. Maybe we should never give names to paintings. They should just be painting #1,#2,#3. I've given names to painting only to find the client calls it something related personally to them. My "Girl in Chair" of instance becomes "The Pensive Moment".

What message do we imbue in our art? What are we trying to say with our painting? Are we saying anything? I believe we need to say something, not just make pretty pictures. But that's just me. If a picture still speaks a thousand words, we may need to choose our words more carefully.

I heard the concert in Toronto before he left for Europe and thought it was 2 of the best hours I've ever spent. The man simply touches the soul. You leave uplifted, believing in language.

About eight years ago I purchased a CD called Tower of Song – the songs of Leonard Cohen. At that point I had never heard of Cohen but purchased the CD because I was in to listening to as many different kinds of music that I could find.

The music immediately grabbed me. The melody and, especially the lyrics. On this CD Cohen’s songs are sung by some of the most respected musicians in every genre and, the voices seem to be perfectly matched with the messages they express.

The responses to this week’s letter prove that Cohen’s art does what powerful art is supposed to do – elicit a deep and meaningful response in the specific viewer / listener / experience-e. To me, the more the viewer is a “thinker” the more varied the response to the artwork will be. Ah the beauty of the human mind!

If you are interested in the mechanics of how the senses work in unison, you might want to read Brain Rules – 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School by John Medina. I guarantee that what this book will provide some amazing insight as to how and why we perceive the way we do! The author is a developmental molecular biologist, the director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research at Seattle Pacific University and teaches at the University of Washington School of Medicine. This book is clear, easy to read and understand and FUNNY. It will change the way you feel about people’s reaction to your work and others.

Katherin S. Harris - An opinion is a person’s idea or thought about something. It’s an assessment or judgment. It is not a fact. You can’t falsify an opinion nor can you prove or verify an opinion. This is what I think Leonardo was talking about. We form opinions on things that may be based on incorrect or limited information or information we choose to believe. If we take our opinions for fact, therein lies the danger of which Leonardo speaks.

Visual art doesn't have to be silent if you have the right friends!

My friend and flutist, Ginger Armstrong, took a painting I had created in the White Place in Abiquiu, New Mexico, and created music from it. She put 5 strands of dental floss across the image, picked a line in the painting, and then played the notes where they crossed the staff. As the notes resounded in the canyon, I wished I had made the painting five feet long instead of two feet!

I would love to relive that moment.

Poetry is art for the mind, music art for the ears. Words immediately conjure up images, and I am addicted to words, singly or in passages. I cannot paint without music - it tells me what colors to use and where to lay them on the canvas.

I was doubly blessed recently to have heard an excerpt from Dr. Seuss' last book (Oh The Places You'll Go! ) which I call The Waiting Place. It so moved me I felt compelled to paint the images I saw in my mind's eye, and the music I listened to (Isabel Bayrakdarian, Joyous Light) gave me my palette. The passage was taped to my easel while I painted, and the result is more complete for the triple interaction of paint-music-poetry. I cannot separate the three - for me they are my trinity.

Always, the exploration of art leads inward to an exploration of self. The interaction of the exterior field of action, technique and externalizing vision makes the "statement" of perceived reality. The magic of art is that it is not discrete. It contains so many elements that the artist who gets very quiet at the centre, comes to see. Music, dance, kinesthetics and aesthetics do, indeed, become one form.
The process of creating visual art has been a path of self-discovery. One can liken it almost to archeology or the uncovering of the bones of self with brushes. Removing that which one does not identify as part of the central form leaves a true definition.
It is with this "archeological exploration" in mind that I suddenly had an epiphany. My work has always had a movement across the surface and a shifting of planes. Movement transforms the background, mid ground and foreground as they exchange dominance on different areas of the canvas.
I assumed that this was from my history as a dancer and choreographer. However, when someone asked me, "How do you get these vision?" I found myself understanding. "When I was very young, I began to see visions of colored shapes dancing whenever I heard music. Now, as a sixty year old, I have been able to reproduce the synergy of art, music, dance that I saw behind my eyes all of my life."
Not unlike the process itself, I discovered the answer to what drives my work by turning off the rational mind and simply answering the question.
As in physics, all forms partake of all other forms. The flow of language, the clarity of visual impressions, the dynamics of music are all one. It is only someone who cannot "speak" the language of another manifestation of aesthetic, who places one form above others. They are all the soul's work. They are why we are here... to discover self and find the beauty of life.

I consider myself an artist but my passion is poetry/lyrics. Leonard Cohen is a genius. I don't think anyone can say poetry is better than art or art better than poetry...if it speaks to you then it has done its job.

As someone else has pointed out, Cohen is blessed with a sense of irony (and no doubt a wry smile) when he sings "I was blessed with a golden voice." However, what a lesson he has always presented in rising above his limitations.

I have to agree with Clare Cross' statement that poetry is alive and well. My chiropractor is a poet. He writes prolifically and reads at many local establishments. And much to my delight and well-being, he reads his new stuff to me while I lie face down on the adjustment table, TENS unit on my back. It's the only doctor appointment I actually look forward to and besides the benefit of his skills as a chiropractor, I find that his creative energy fuels mine.

I think his "golden voice" comment was about his writing ability...like my art is my voice or my music might be my voice...

I just remembered that years ago now, my sister sculpted her idea of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne." He inspired her to sculpt for the first time. She was holding a mirror. I love his use of biblical connotations.

Robert, I disagree with your statement that "Music moves us on a level that visual art does not". I am moved to tears by Zubaran, my heart leaps up at Rembrandt, I am soothed by Manet and awed by van Gogh. Sure, some race through the Uffizi but they are untouched by art. Some are untouched by music. It all depends on your sensibility.
When I paint, I choose my music depending on the feeling of the painting. Usually I listen to world music, sounds in another language that I can feel but not understand. It is less distracting and I can channel the sensuality of the music into my work. I suppose I would say that art moves me in a different way than music; although I can get lost in both.

I have been a fan of Leonard Cohen since I discovered his early poetry, The Spice-Box of Earth, years ago. I recently rediscovered his music, and enjoy listening to it - especially when I paint. He is a musician of course, but first of all a poet and wordsmith, and there are wonderful layers and felicitous word choices to explore in his lyrics. I've started to use his work as inspiration or title for some of my paintings, the latest of which is Tower of Song (any way I can send an image of that?).
I am, by the way, quite jealous of your chance to hear him perform, and also to be in Lucca!

As having an artist's nature, I find that my sanctuaries number three, my little cubby-hole studio, my very feminine bedroom, and any part of the out-of-doors available to me as I age. Lately its been my tiny backyard pool and enclosure, there I write haiku and feel I am in a magic garden away from the world. All these places are essential to the health of my imagination. So sanctuaries can be very simple and close to home. No travel needed.

Here are a couple of my Leonard Cohen favorites for anybody who wants to listen...

Suzanne http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30egIKHT-pM

Closing Time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrPEM2qc-j8

Take This Waltz http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSWgnSE8A-I

Famous Blue Raincoat 1979 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etljYFnuPGQ&feature=related

There is a whole collection of his work on YouTube...enjoy...

Isn't Leonard awesome fodder for thought? To me, art, music and poetry all sing with the same voice. Any artform comes from the same corner of the human condition. The same side of the brain, the same spark of human thought and expression. To express an idea, one could use a paint brush or a palette knife, a guitar or a violin, a haiku or a limrick. This is one of my favorite subjects to muse on. I interpret music in paintings-- it's an endless well of inspiration.