Connecting Art and Nature | A Webinar with the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

This week, Mrs. Young's Grade 11 and 12 Music class joined the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) for a conversation about art and the environment. 

Students discussed and analyzed a piece of art called “The Wisdom of the Universe” created by Christi Belcourt. Their discussion focused on images of nature, style, and the interesting ways artists communicate through the natural world. In the case of “The Wisdom of the Universe”, Belcourt used acrylic paint to represent plants and flowers.

Camille Watts, flutist and piccoloist with the TSO, played for the class and shared ideas about how music can communicate aspects of nature in a unique way. Camille demonstrated how musicians use the elements of music to communicate emotion without using words. Musicians use dynamics, style, metre, instrumental colours, key and more to communicate with audiences. 

Their conversation transitioned to a discussion about commonalities between visual art and music as forms of expression. Students learned that all art is centered around communication and that there are similarities between all genres of art. 

“I learned that visual arts and music can work well together to create a masterpiece.” - Grace Devitt ’21

“I enjoyed the way that the musicians are able to connect artwork and music together to further develop the meaning behind both pieces of art in a way that neither one could encompass on its own.” - Jay Lau ’22

“I liked how the music connected the art. It shows the colours, brightness, emotions, and feelings. The music expressed what is shown in artworks in different expressions.” - Minah Bae ’21