{"id":32962,"date":"2019-11-13T15:34:30","date_gmt":"2019-11-13T20:34:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=32962"},"modified":"2024-07-02T17:13:07","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T17:13:07","slug":"barron-northrup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=32962","title":{"rendered":"Joining Forces: Unity in Art and the Orchestra"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor’s note: Barron Northrup’s exhibit is now installed on the first floor of the Hanes Art Center, in the southeast corner of the building. It will be moved to the Hill Hall rotunda on Dec. 3.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Arts Everywhere supports people\u2019s projects and passion for the arts. In the spring of 2019, Arts Everywhere launched the Student Arts Innovation Grant<\/a>, awarded once a year to one undergraduate and one graduate student to create a work of art. Undergraduate student Barron Northrup ’20 was one of the inaugural recipients. He is a studio art and communication studies major who is pursuing a music minor.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Barron
Barron Northrup received a Student Arts Innovation Grant from Arts Everywhere.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Inspiration<\/strong>
\nWhen Barron Northrup is struggling creatively, he looks for stories which he is uniquely situated to tell. To find the narrative, Northrup says he asks himself the question \u201cin this moment, where is the photo which only I can make?\u201d For his project, the answer was quite simple. Being active in both the visual and musical artistic fields, he saw the opportunity for these two worlds to interact further on campus and set out on his new project: Joining Forces: Unity in Art and the Orchestra.<\/em><\/p>\n

His Connection to Photography<\/strong>
\nNorthrup applied to UNC as an art major as visual art was \u2013 and still is \u2013 his primary interest. Last fall, he signed up for a Darkroom Photography class (ARTS 305) with Professor Gesche W\u00fcrfel where he got his first taste of medium and large format film photography. Very quickly, that became one of his favorites and he asked Professor W\u00fcrfel to be his faculty adviser for the project.<\/p>\n

\"Barron
Barron Northrup with his exhibit in Hanes Art Center. (photo by Crystal Wu)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, his first photography experience at UNC didn\u2019t come from a class he took but from an extracurricular experience two years prior when he joined The Daily Tar Heel<\/em> during his very first semester at UNC. This opportunity introduced him to documentary photography and inspired him to take several photojournalism classes. The classes and his DTH<\/em> work have all involved portraiture, and Northrup says they have become \u201cone of my favorite applications of photography.\u201d<\/p>\n

His connection to the UNC Symphony Orchestra (UNCSO)<\/strong>
\nAs an audiovisual technician in the department of music<\/a>, Northrup has recorded the UNC Symphony Orchestra\u2019s concerts for several years. However, the orchestra truly captured his\u00a0imagination when he took a class in orchestral composition. The main project for the class was to compose a short piece, which was then performed by UNCSO at the end of the semester.<\/p>\n

Spending time at UNCSO\u2019s rehearsals and immersing himself in the writing process forced him to think about the\u00a0orchestra\u2019s idiosyncrasy: orchestras blend a large and diverse array of instruments and musicians.<\/p>\n

He realized this contrast between individuality and unity holds true across the arts: music and visual art take vastly different forms and are presented in disparate ways, but they nevertheless complement each other in artistic expression.<\/p>\n

Bringing it all together: The project <\/strong><\/p>\n

Northrup believes that classical orchestras and film photography \u2013 especially larger format photography \u2013 are both \u201cincredibly expressive and complex art forms that are declining in appreciation, popularity, and funding due to the rise of newer musical and photographic trends.\u201d He aims to show that both art forms remain very much alive.<\/p>\n

For the project, Northrup used medium format film to produce color negative film photographs of each member of the UNCSO. The photographs themselves posed little technical challenge. He used the same studio setup for all of them, so once he had his lighting worked out, the process sailed smoothly.<\/p>\n

What proved the most difficult for Northrup was coordinating portrait sessions for all 85 students (and their instruments) and figuring out how to photograph the piano! Since the student was unable to move the piano into the lighting studio, Northrup was forced to adjust and create a miniature studio in the back hallway of Moeser Auditorium. Despite those challenges, he has loved engaging with representatives from different areas of the school related to the production of this exhibit.<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI hope people will begin to think about the potential connections between visual art and music when they see this work,\u201d Barron reveals. \u201cMy goal with the placement and timing of the exhibition is specifically targeted toward creatives in both of these disciplines.\u201d<\/p>\n

The photos he took will be exhibited together and arranged, according to the artist, in the configuration of a \u201cbird\u2019s-eye view\u201d orchestra diagram. They will go on display at the Hanes Art Center starting the week of Nov. 18. On Dec.3, he will move the photos to the rotunda of Hill Hall as a pop-up gallery to coincide with UNCSO\u2019s concert<\/a> that evening. The photos will remain in the Hill Hall rotunda through the end of December.<\/p>\n

But Northrup clarifies that even for people who identify with neither of these fields, his goal is \u201cto inspire them and to get them thinking about the interdisciplinary connections.\u201d He believes that placing precise definitions on art is a risky business, but for him, the \u201cwhole purpose of art is to inspire, whether that means to express beauty or to provoke thought.\u201d Northrup hopes that his art can be the fuel for others to tap into their own creative selves.<\/p>\n

\u201cI certainly hope the project will be beautiful, but more than that, I want it to be an example of unity across the arts.\u201d<\/p>\n

By Arts Everywhere<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the spring of 2019, Arts Everywhere launched the Student Arts Innovation Grant, awarded once a year to one undergraduate and one graduate student to create a work of art. Undergraduate Barron Northrup ’20 was one of the inaugural recipients. 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