Wichita Symphony, space photographer reunite for concert
It took his second marriage of outer space photography and classical music to convince Jose Francisco Salgado that what he was doing was art.
In Salgado’s fourth collaboration with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, in two concerts next week, the astronomer-photographer-performance artist will provide visuals to Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” titled “Universe at an Exhibition.”
“I knew the piece, but I listened again and thought, ‘How can this fit conceptually?’” Salgado recalled after a suggestion of the Mussorgsky work. “Astronomical images are so beautiful that they look like works of art. So, what if I treat not only astronomical images but … scientific visualizations based on scientific data from NASA and other agencies, to create this beautiful animation.”
“Exhibition” debuted in 2008 with the Chicago Symphony.
“It’s based on science but also in an artistic way. I could feature those works … and treat them as artwork,” he recalled from his Nashville office. “Furthermore, we have this repeating theme of the promenade … For each promenade in the symphonic version, I could take the audience through a gallery, a virtual gallery. I could have shot this in a museum, but I’m pushing myself in different directions, so the main push was doing it in 3-D animation and create these galleries virtually.”
Salgado has updated the visuals twice, thanks to advancement in 3-D graphics and imaging, he said.
“The neat thing is that some of the images serve as portals to go into space,” Salgado said. “You could be in a gallery and like ‘Alice in Wonderland’ you see something on the wall and literally walk into the painting and explore the cosmos.
“Of all the films I have produced, it’s the one that does the best job at playing, literally playing, having this interplay between science and art,” he added.
Using either NASA pictures or his own photography, Salgado has created 10 “movies” – in what he has referred to as a “backwards soundtrack” process of providing visuals to go with the music. He has wrapped up his 11th, is at work on the 12th, and “No. 13 is on the list.”
The Wichita Symphony concert also will feature Valerie Coleman’s “Seven O’clock Shout,” Ravel’s “Mother Goose Suite” and Aram Khachaturian’s “Masquerade Suite.”
Salgado is excited about the Christmas Day launch of the James Webb telescope, billed as a successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, which has provided him with many of his visuals.
“The Hubble is already 32 years old and is still working,” he said. “Absolutely, I’m looking forward to, for my films, playing with the new images that James Webb’s space telescope will produce. I’m sure in the future those pictures will end up in ‘Pictures at an Exhibition.’”
‘Universe at an Exhibition’ by Wichita Symphony
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 22 and 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 23
Where: Century II concert hall, 225 W. Douglas
Tickets: $30-$85, from wichitasymphony.org or 267-7658
