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- by Christopher Vibberts  Ladder by Mark Gleason in a 2016 exhibition at La Luz de Jesus Gallery - Los Angeles, CA A couple years ago I was in L.A. to record and shoot a music video with David J and the Gentleman Thieves. Two of my cohorts were eager to take me to the legendary Soap Plant + Wacko complex on Hollywood Blvd., well known purveyors of post-pop culture. For about an hour and a half we sifted through the dazzling kaleidoscope of books, art, music, novelties, vintage nostalgia, and gadgets of the future. We finally made our way to the La Luz de Jesus Gallery in the back, which turned out to be the impetus for this excursion. A friend of their's, an outstanding artist, was having an exhibition that month at the gallery. In contrast to the swirling, sensory edge of chaos we were teetering on moments before, I was suddenly faced with stark, hypnotic images frozen in time. Before me: a crow silently perched atop a vertically suspended ladder, a stallion nonchalantly taking a piss, a shirtless man frantically deconstructing a mountain of rocks...one by one. This was my indoctrination into the stunning and surreal world of Mark Gleason. Since that afternoon Mark and I have caught up at art exhibits and music events, and I've kept a close eye on Mark's work through his website and Facebook posts. Always coveting his latest creation for my own walls. As a film composer, I constantly saw Mark's paintings as great inspiration for a sombre requiem or grinding dirge, an avant-garde fantasia or even just a simple pop tune. But when the MUSIC FÜR CREATING project was percolating in my studio I decided to turn the tables and ask Mark if he would be interested in creating a work inspired by my music. Mark was immediately enthusiastic citing Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, Harold Budd, William Basinski, Stars of the Lid, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, and Aphex Twin as frequent aural influencers during his creative process. Fantastic!...yet frightening, as I was now about to give him my album to listen to following this list of the experimental and ambient music elite. The watery sensation in the music on Instar made a perfect soundtrack to create this painting. Following Mark's first listen to Instar he immediately got back to me with his impressions, "I kept picturing a grotto or underground body of water, with dripping stalactites. I swam in the Blue Grotto in Capri once, and I was getting that same vibe of a warm, safe, wet, enclosing but not claustrophobic space. I also pictured the imagery in David Lynch’s Dune, where the drips fall on the black water surface hidden on Arrakis."  Mark Gleason's finished painting Geta O Azukeru Mark shared with me further inspirations for his painting. "I was a little obsessed by two things with the inception of this: Akira Kurosawa’s Sanshiro Sugata, in which the protagonist throws away his geta, and they are later seen floating down a stream. That film scene also reminded me of the lovely long take of river grass swaying in Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris." 'Geta o azukeru' means literally 'to give up one’s geta' i.e., to put your situation into another’s hands. Which, is what I did as I listened to your music. I am deeply honored to have played a small part in Mark Gleason's creative process during the completion of Geta O Azukeru. Take a minute to head over to his website and dive deeper into this incredible world of striking imagery that slowly burrows its way into your head, heart, and emotions, all impeccably crafted with a master's hand and a sage's soul. Follow him on Facebook to find out when his next exhibition is. To see his work in person is a truly captivating experience. Mark Gleason grew up in Connecticut, received a BFA in Studio Arts from Syracuse University in 1984, earned a Masters Degree in Art Education in 1989 and has been teaching art in the public schools for twenty-nine years. Mark has a resonance with solitary places, particular animals, and to the human figure. His painting is shaped by film and music, as well as by psychology, philosophy, and literature. He often places his figures in undefined, mysterious settings as a way of investigating the process of how we make meaning of ambiguous situations. His figures are familiar but enigmatic, so that their story and relationship is oblique. Experience more of Mark Gleason's work at: www.markgleason.org Christopher Vibberts is a producer and film composer whose work can be heard in many award-winning short, animated, documentary, and feature-length films, as well as campaigns for AAA, Honda, Marriott, Lagunitas, Beats by Dr. Dre, ESPN, Sector 9, Subway, National Geographic, & many others. He currently records & performs with David J (Love and Rockets/Bauhaus) playing sitar, guitar, keyboards, lap steel, Melodica, and flute and releases ambient music under the name of Chrystal Für.
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- by Christopher Vibberts  Photo: FLM Ceramics The first time I saw Forrest Lesch-Middelton’s ceramic work I was astounded, intrigued, and slightly confused. The simple mug my wife brought home from an art show gave me a strange sense of traveling back in time. The intricacy of the pattern emblazoned on the surface brought to mind ancient patterns I’ve seen in travels through Turkey as well as ornamentation on Asian relics from books and museums. I was fascinated that someone from our community could create something so reminiscent of an artifact from another time and place. I immediately wanted to know how such an exceptional looking object was created. Since then, I have had the good fortune to get to know Forrest as a friend, see the vast array of his work, learn about his innovative "volumetric image transfer" technique, and even get to experience his process firsthand. I am even more captivated by his talent and vision now that I have seen the scope of his work and have a rudimentary understanding of his process. I am honored to feature Forrest as the first artist collaboration in the MUSIC FÜR CREATING project. When a very close friend’s father passed away, Forrest was commissioned to make an urn for the ashes. During this important task of creating a vessel that would cradle these cherished remains, Forrest needed to move from a space of knowing all the steps of his process, to feeling what he was creating, for someone that he had known. “He was a super sweet guy. He lived in Hawaii for a long time and had a great collection of Aloha shirts. They sent me images of a bunch of his shirts to see if I could pick something out as inspiration. There was one that had this pattern that was unlike most of the other traditional shirts. It had hard lines and was a Hawaiian tattoo for water and mountains. We isolated that design and turned it into a pattern and put it on the work.”
I was able to just let go. This album is a perfect background for that. With Instar as his backdrop, he was able to drop into a special space. “When I was working I put the album on a loop and it was nice to not have that expectation of what we are all conditioned to think of music as. It gave me a lot of headspace to just be aware of my friends. I’ve made urns before, but honestly not for anyone I’ve ever known. When I make a piece that is this special to somebody I have to create a certain sense of reverence for what it is that I’m making.”
It really was the perfect soundtrack to the act of making. Thank you. I highly recommend you reserve some time to wander through the stunning display of Forrest Lesch-Middelton’s work on his website FLM Ceramics. One of my personal favorite offerings (close to my musical heart) is his sound waves tiles with patterns literally made from vibrating the tiles at specific frequencies. You won’t be disappointed! Forrest Lesch-Middelton is a potter, tile maker, and educator living and working in Petaluma, CA. Forrest found pottery at the age of 14 and since that time has been traveling the country as a student, resident, educator, advocate, and artist developing a body of work that brings functional pottery and tile to life with rich political and cultural content. Learn more about Forrest and his work at: www.flmceramics.com Christopher Vibberts is a producer and film composer whose work can be heard in many award-winning short, animated, documentary, and feature-length films, as well as campaigns for AAA, Honda, Marriott, Lagunitas, Beats by Dr. Dre, ESPN, Sector 9, Subway, National Geographic, & many others. He currently records & performs with David J (Love and Rockets/Bauhaus) playing sitar, guitar, keyboards, lap steel, Melodica, and flute and releases ambient music under the name of Chrystal Für.
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