Piano as Art – Shauna Holiman and Penny Putnam Collaboration

aegis piano art In this artist spotlite, we feature a collaboration between Shauna Holiman and Penny Putnam.

Their postmodern collages and sculptures were mostly created using parts of the piano.

After you read their interview, please take a look at their Piano as Art website. On there they feature several other artworks from their collaboration. The images can be viewed there quite interestingly by clicking the keys on the piano.

… On to the artist interview!

What is Piano as Art?

PIANO AS ART is a three way collaboration between 2 artists (Penny Putnam and Shauna Holiman) and Faust Harrison Pianos, the leading piano restorer in the nation. The art, inspired by piano parts and in many cases composed of the parts themselves (antique ivories, hammers, oddly shaped inner mechanicals and bits of casework) contributed by Faust Harrison, is totally collaborative, the artists having abandoned their personal styles to create a whole new oeuvre together.

Have you two collaborated before (Shauna Holiman and Penny Putnam)?

Piano As Art is our first collaboration. We fell into working together very easily and decided very early on to completely abandon the idea of individual ownership.

Making the first piece together was simply a blast. We felt as we did when we were children, it was just pure play.

What inspired you to create Piano As Art?

We draw tremendous inspiration from each other and the process of working together which spills over richly into our individual work. In this project we were deeply inspired by the material itself - the interesting shapes of piano parts, the beauty of old wood and ivory, the piano itself as a tool for expression.

What artistic style might Piano As Art be considered?

PIANO AS ART is quite post modern. As most of the pieces are made out of reclaimed piano parts, the work is fundamentally 3 dimensional and sculptural. Much of it is light hearted and some downright funny.