Help me pick artwork for my piano room (OT-esque)

ShiroKuro · 2024-06-23T13:30:40+00:00

Ok, this is going to be long, so TIA for reading it!! Also, I guess this is sort of OT (OT-adjacent?) so thank you for indulging me! In my old house, I had...

Rubens

keff I wish I could find an original piano version written by Sakamoto, not arranged by anybody. @ShiroKuro ?

ShiroKuro

Rubens this is said to be the most "authentic" version:

https://score-en.sitesakamoto.com/products/merry_christmas_mr_lawrence_piano_solo

I believe you should be able to buy even if you're not in Japan, it's Y990, which is maybe $6 depending on the exchange rate at the moment.

I have a version I bought in Japan many years ago, it is very close to the original. But I don't own the version I linked here, so I can't compare.

ShiroKuro

keff
Here is the end of the version I have, is this what you're talking about? In the score I have, it's not written with a coda.

keff

ShiroKuro Thank you for posting those final eight bars to confirm the version I was sent is different. My score doesn't have alternating octave Gflat in the left hand but merely eighth notes (quavers) on G3flat..

EDIT. I am beginning to wonder if I am mixed up and not talking about the same music. I am referring to Forbidden Colours with sub-title Merry Christmas Mr.L

Rubens

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

ShiroKuro

There's a vocal version, which I always forget about. (As I recall, I don't really like that version, so I haven't listened to it much). But assuming the score you have is written as a piano solo, it's probably the same music, although how close it is to the original is a separate question.

I don't actually know which version (vocal, orchestra, solo piano) is the "original" version. It's such a popular piece in Japan that you hear all different kinds of arrangements. There's one with some kind of synth/toy piano that has a very distinctly Christmas feel, whereas the solo piano version (IMO) doesn't necessarily evoke "Christmas" and you wouldn't even think of it without knowing the title... And then I've heard a version with IIRC cello, violin and piano (three instruments), as well as the original movie score, which I think is fully orchestrated???

TLH21

Rubens

Well, if you're a Philistine that must make me a sea cucumber. I saw Motherwell mentioned, thought of a place in Scotland, and was puzzling about the connection to finger painting... With that in mind, I love the black and white personally. The colourful one overwhelms the abstract(?) rug and beautiful curves of the piano.

ShiroKuro

TLH21 I saw Motherwell mentioned, thought of a place in Scotland, and was puzzling about the connection to finger painting...

I also didn't know what Motherwell was and when I googled, I got the Motherwell Football Club (soccer if you're state-side) and was very confused!

ShiroKuro

Ithaca have you spent enough time in your house/the geographic area to know what the light is like at different times of the year? I love the black-and-white triptych, but where I live now, something of that size and color against most light & neutral wall colors will feel sterile in the winter.

Oooh, this is a good point! Thanks!

Also, thanks for sending all the links, I'll take a look.

Rubens

ShiroKuro
Haha, you two!
I only knew of Motherwell by chance. Not many modern artists are mainstream anyway, and I'm sure I don't know the actual artist who painted your black and white piece. But I just find that piece too aggressive to my taste. If you want to go with abstract you could consider Rothko who is less intrusive.

iternabe

I'd say no to that large colorful one.

Have you thought about acoustic panels? They might make the room sound better, too. You can look them up on Etsy. I like the wooden ones, although they are not inexpensive. I have also seen people DIY their own, then wrap with fabric of their choice, or even get fabric with custom printed images.

Acoustic Panels on Etsy

ShiroKuro

iternabe thanks for that Etsy link! I've been looking at different options, and I don't want to do acoustic panel covered with fabric, I don't like they way the look. But there are so really interesting options on Etsy that I haven't seen before. The trouble is that all of them seem to be designed to attach to the wall with adhesive, and I do not want to do that... So if I were going to use something like, I'd need to figure out how to mount them some other way...

@twocats thanks for the suggestion, I'll look him up now!

twocats

You might look into the art of Robert Kushner. I only know of him because I knew his son in college. His paintings have beautiful Japanese/Chinese looking florals but also an abstract feeling. I find some of his work quite beautiful. I don't know if you can get it printed on canvas, but if you can a large print or maybe a series of similar prints would look really good!

Stub

ShiroKuro I have several smaller prints (like, 8" x 10' or something) that I specifically don't want to put on that wall, because you can't really see the artwork. Like these: [three pagoda themed prints you had on the wall at your old house]

I think these three on the wall (the one where you show the black and white prints) would work well if lined up side by side, maybe a few inches apart. I'm thinking that kind of geometrical arrangement of the three prints would compliment the geometrical theme of the carpet, but the prints themselves don't have to be abstract or geometrical.

ShiroKuro

So, I took my two top choices (at the moment) and printed them out on multiple sheets of paper to see what it would actually look like on the wall. (A fun Sunday activity! 🙂

This has shown me that while I like the black and white set in theory, I don't like it in reality. But I do really like the colorful one, and now I'm wondering if I could get it one size larger...

Here's the black & white set, basically full size (the only thing missing is the depth you would get with the actual prints)

Here you can see the black and white piece I already own (on the floor), I don't think these two go well together.

Here's the colorful one, mostly the actual size (but missing the frame and the depth of the real item)

Panorama pic

Zoomed out pic

twocats

ShiroKuro I actually like the colorful piece but it has to be twice the size, if not more! Even if it's too big to fit nicely in the space above the ceiling and the piano it could go a little behind the piano. The eye intuitively understands that it's supposed to fit the wall, not that the piano is a border.

brdwyguy

Ithaca I LOVE everyone one of those examples Ithaca, wow they are really cool!

Sgisela

I’m not crazy about the colorful piece. I find that the rounded edges of the shapes feel a little jarring when contrasted with the very sharp angles in the carpet, and I’m also not sure how I feel about how the colors work with the colors in the carpet. I liked the black and white more, but it seems like the more you’ve thought about the options, you’re more inclined to the colorful piece. So if you like it, and it works for you, that’s what’s important.

If you’re looking for other ideas, what about a textile? I’m thinking that something along the lines of the pieces of this artist would work well in the space:
[https://www.porfiriogutierrez.com/current-exhiubition] .
Or you could do something Japanese.

ShiroKuro

Sgisela what about a textile?

I love that idea but I haven’t seen much that has the magic combination: I like it and it’s something I can afford!

twocats but it has to be twice the size, if not more!

Yeah I’m really agonizing about the size. This is a print I found on Art dot com, and the next size up is more than twice as much, actually with the frame maybe almost 4x… ugh. I’m not sure I can justify that…

Lemme check on iCanvas…

Stub

Sgisela I’m not crazy about the colorful piece. I find that the rounded edges of the shapes feel a little jarring when contrasted with the very sharp angles in the carpet, and I’m also not sure how I feel about how the colors work with the colors in the carpet. I liked the black and white more, but it seems like the more you’ve thought about the options, you’re more inclined to the colorful piece. So if you like it, and it works for you, that’s what’s important.

Agree. The visible space on that wall is a long, narrow (top to bottom) rectangle and a single piece seems sort of unbalanced. I like the three-side-by-side (whatever the pieces might be) arrangement better for a more satisfying and balanced feel. But--you're the one who has to live with it every day, unlike us armchair critics. 🧐

twocats

Other idea: just find a giant piece of fabric that you like and wrap it around a wood frame. It can be really easy, you can buy these thin wood pieces 2-3 inches wide (if you've ever had a stone countertop made for your home the guys use those for templates) which can be glued or stapled at the corners. Then you just wrap the fabric around it and glue/staple that onto the frame. It's also super easy to hang since you can just put a couple of nails in the wall and rest the inside edge of the frame on it!

Also I think you should really go big if you're getting a statement piece. Someone once told me to go big for rugs and I haven't regretted that advice. If you don't make it big enough, it won't have the impact!

ShiroKuro

twocats just find a giant piece of fabric that you like

I was thinking about that when I thought I would do acoustic panels, but I can’t really come up with something that I think I would like….

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