I … My Name (2019)

about

Untitled by Leili Barwick

I … My Name is based on a painting by my mother, Leili Barwick. As with all of her paintings, it's left untitled in order to invite the viewer to come to their own conclusions about its meaning. My title comes from a line of the haiku (written by the painter) that is embedded within the painting. You can make out a few of the words — such as "O … one, T … two, th … three," "Houdini," and faintly at the top "I … my name" — but most have been purposely obscured, including the word between "I" and "my name." This theme of hidden, secret codes and images is where I take my inspiration. The piece begins where my own eye starts in the painting: with the bright beige, yellow, and white sun-like explosion in the upper left-hand corner, represented in the music by the bright piano chords and impetuous string melodies. The music then follows my eye as it travels from hidden object to hidden word, meditating on them while also attempting to decode their meaning. As the painter does with her Untitled title, I also prefer to leave the exact path of the music through the painting up to the performers/audience.

I … My Name is written for Curium Trio in collaboration with Helia Music Collective. Premiered October 18, 2019 at the Holy Names University in Oakland, California.

instrumentation

Violin, Cello, Piano

duration

ca. 9 minutes

performances