Miriam Engelhardt

Musical Moments  

The current series “Musical Moments” is inspired by the concept of a character  piece: a musical composition that expresses a distinct and defining mood. As  Romanticism swept through the musical world in the 1800s, strict adherence to  compositional form gave way to looser, free-flowing compositions, and the  mood and ideas evoked by the piece became a focal point of many  compositions.

Through a series of photographic composites “Musical Moments” explores how  the essence and sentiment of such musical forms can be transmuted from an  auditory to a visual medium. The series presents four such forms: a caprice, in its  whimsicality and humor; a nocturne, expressive of the mystery of the night; a  serenade, lyric and poetic; and marche funèbre, a funeral march with its  requisite somberness yet nostalgia of a distant and elusive memory. While  compositional rules have changed through the years, the emotional character and mood at the heart of these pieces, which I explore in my work, have  continued to captivate, engage, and inspire listeners through the tests of time.

Artist Bio

Raised by classical musicians, Miriam Engelhardt developed at an early age a special  relationship with music and a sensitivity to the ambiance and mood inspired by  musical compositions. After years of research and teaching in linguistics and  languages, she began her journey into the world of photography in 2016 with special focus on creating montages from photographic images through digital  manipulation. The process enables her to mold her experiences, sentiments,  impressions, and ideas into concrete visual form. Much like musical  compositions, her pieces fuse and blend together disparate elements into a  harmonious form, its colors and shading providing tonality and expression.