Ru
EnE. Emelina
Graphic images of «music for the eyes» in the second half of the twentieth century: the labyrinth
This article explores the image of the labyrinth and its embodiments in musical art of the second half of the 20th century in the context of graphic notation. The central problem of the study is the means by which music can model spatial representations traditionally inherent in the visual arts. Particular attention is given to the phenomenon of Augenmusik (“music for the eyes”) – a movement in which the graphic appearance of musical notation possesses independent artistic value and is perceived not only by the ear but also by the eye. The historical evolution of this phenomenon is briefly described: from the figurative notation of the Renaissance to the radical experiments carried out by 20th-century composers.
The author of the article provides examples of musical works in which musical notation exhibits certain features of a labyrinthine structure and analyzes examples of compositions that directly recreate the labyrinth in the graphic representations of composers’ scores. Using works by S. Zhukov, A. de la Vega, and A. Logothetis, various approaches to embodying the structural features of the labyrinth in music are demonstrated. Thus, S. Zhukov allows the performer to choose specific musical “routes” that can be “tested” in search of the right path (“exit”). A. de la Vega, with a single, partially predetermined path, allows the interpreter to independently determine the performing method for realizing the conceptual concept. A. Logothetis grants musicians absolute freedom, concentrating entirely on the visual component, which activates the creative imagination of potential “co-creators” of the work.
Common to these three works are the non-linearity of the musical composition, the use of aleatoric techniques of varying degrees of control, and an integral playful component. These features are influenced by postmodern aesthetics – the ideas of “open form” and “free play” in artistic structure, the purposeful transcendence of the boundaries between composer, performer, and listener.
Key words
labyrinth, graphic score, graphic notation, rhizome, postmodernism, Sergey Zhukov, Aurelio de la Vega, Anestis Logothetis.
For citation
Emelina E. Graphic images of «music for the eyes» in the second half of the twentieth century: the labyrinth. In: South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2026. No. 1. Pp. 17–30.
