Most of the music I’ve written in the last five years has reflected on the idea of independent situations, presented for contemplation for (seemingly) arbitrary lengths of time, and juxtaposed in (seemingly) arbitrary ways.
This ‘anti-narrative’ formal thinking, characterised in my doctoral thesis as ‘a situational approach to composition’, hasn’t taken the shape of a creative dogma to adhere to, but is rather a model to be approached in each work in different ways; a stimulating point of reference for my creative agenda.
Last weekend I had a chance to see Mark Lewis’ film ‘Invention’. To my surprise, I found it addressed these same formal issues beautifully, making me think: “This is it. This is what I’ve been trying to articulate all this time.”
Of course Lewis’ creative intentions may or may not relate to mine. In fact I wasn’t familiar at all with his work. But beyond the stunning aesthetic experience that it offers by itself, as a spectator I was left with a serendipitous and refreshing perspective on my own creative concerns.
I won’t describe ‘Invention’ any further to not spoil the experience for any potential viewers, but I hope many friends can watch it too, and look forward to commenting more details in person.
© Pedro Alvarez, 2016
Image: fragment from ‘Invention’ (2014) by Mark Lewis