Sound, as we have learned this semester, plays a significant role in art. We did a project earlier entitled “Sound Studies” in which each student recorded a sound, interpreted it visually, and then represented that image through the platform Adobe Illustrator. These sounds were specifically asked to NOT be music, but something random like the whipping of wind, the crackling of a fire. My recording was skiing down a mountain where you get the classic sounds of fast wings, fresh powder under your skis. But in the recording, you hear the friends in the background, houting in a megaphone as we ski down together.
This project made me realize how significant sound and music is to life and human emotion. I sit here on the train and hear the squeaking of the wheels atop of the tracks. That bothers me. That puts me in a bad mood. I turn up my music, “Same Love” by Macklemore turns on, and I smile. This is what inspired me to pull out my laptop and begin writing. The happiness that I am flooded with from the lyrics of this musician even though moments ago I was frustrated.
The art of music inspired the art of writing.
I am about to go off topic for a moment. Or maybe not since the name of this article is “Benjamin Haggard Haggerty a.k.a. Macklemore.” I understand why he wanted to change his name, but how does one go from the name Ben Haggerty to Macklemore? Here’s what the musician told the media:
“That was when I was 17. I believe. I came out to Pratt Art School when I was a junior for the summer. We were given an [assignment] at graphics art class at my high school in Seattle, I was given this superhero in plastic wrapping. We had to give him a name. I named him Professor Macklemore.”
Macklemore is an artist that, even though I do not listen to his music every day, when I hear it come on the radio or I shuffle one of my random playlists on Spotify, it makes me feel something. Happiness from the simplicity of a song like “Downtown” where he talks about buying a moped. Nostalgia from “Good Old Days.” I cannot help but smile, as I am right now. His music holds so much influence over me and can bring me out of any funk. I doubt I am the only one who feels that way.
This is the job of any artist. They can influence and change people though so many mediums.
