Ginny Ruffner, Inventing the Music of Beauty, 1991, glass, oil paint, colored pencil, and ink, 10 1⁄2 x 21 5⁄8 x 13 1⁄4 in. (26.7 x 55.0 x 33.7 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Ann and Thomas Cousins, the James Renwick Alliance, and museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program, 1992.81
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Inventing the Music of Beauty
- Artist
- Date
- 1991
- Location
- Dimensions
- 10 1⁄2 x 21 5⁄8 x 13 1⁄4 in. (26.7 x 55.0 x 33.7 cm.)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Ann and Thomas Cousins, the James Renwick Alliance, and museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program
- Mediums Description
- glass, oil paint, colored pencil, and ink
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Abstract
- Object Number
- 1992.81
Artwork Description
Ginny Ruffner believes music is very visual, and sees a conductor of an orchestra as the very embodiment of the way music moves and flows. The figure in this piece, copied from Michelangelo’s Libyan Sibyl in the Sistine Chapel, has a posture similar to that of a conductor, and the flowing lines in the background create an abstract music stave.
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From the elegance of fruit to the structural beauty of coat hangers and the evolution of the bra, Ginny Ruffner offers insight into the artistic decisions behind two of her painted glass sculptures, Inventing the Music of Beauty and A Girl’s Guide to Fashion Evolution.