Vertical Thoughts: Morton Feldman and the Visual Arts

If any music can be said to be painterly, it is that of Morton Feldman (1926-1987), one of the most influential composers of the twentieth century. Feldman (1926-1987) was deeply immersed in the milieu of New York Abstract Expressionism, and found analogies in sound to the materiality of Pollock, the gravitas of Rothko and the hesitant, venturing brushstrokes of Guston. Taking as its departure point an exhibition Feldman curated in 1967 titled Six Painters, Vertical Thoughts considers the impact that postwar American art had on Feldman's own compositions. It features works by the six painters -- Guston, Kline, Mondrian, de Kooning, Pollock and Rothko -- and by other artists whom Feldman admired, such as Kitaj, Rauschenberg and Twombly. Also reproduced are works from Feldman's own collection, including his Middle Eastern and Asian rugs, archival photographs and ephemera, musical scores and record covers of compositions dedicated to artists such as Guston and Rothko, besides interviews with and writings by Feldman himself.