For our Contemporary Virtual Exhibit we are instructed to create a theme. Select a minimum of six works from at least two different artists that fit our theme. Create a short biography on each artist. Include the factual information on each work, and describe how each work fits into our theme as well as comment about our aesthetic reaction to the featured work. All works must have been created after 1975.
The theme I chose is something that I and millions of others have great passion for and have enjoyed for years, and look forward to enjoying for years to come. The theme itself is beloved worldwide and is an art work that has thrilled millions of viewers, influenced countless of imaginative minds, and changed the world of Sci Fi forever. As a fan there are not enough words to convey the importance, and the impact that my theme has had on not only the movie industry, art and music industries, but the lives of children and adults everywhere. If you haven’t guessed it already, my theme is the famed STAR WARS saga.
Now at this point your probably thinking “oh great another nerd talking about STAR WARS”, well your right – to a point. For this blog assignment I’m not going to go on about the amazing director, producer and overall bad ass George Lucas, although without him this fantastic galaxy far far away would not have existed, and of course he did influence the works that I am going to showcase in my virtual exhibit. Rather, I am going to showcase the work of two amazing artists that without their work and influence the STAR WARS saga may not have been as successful, indeed it may not have been as magical. The artists I’m referring to and whose work I will feature in my virtual exhibit are composer John Williams and concept artist Ralph McQuarrie.
I’ll introduce John Williams’ work first so that anyone looking at this blog can have awesome background music to listen to while they read and check out Ralph McQuarrie’s beautiful paintings and fantastic works of art. “John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932) is an American composer, conductor and pianist. In a career spanning over six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Home Alone and its sequel, Hook, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, War Horse, and the first three Harry Potter films.”
Williams’ music is powerful, beautiful, and intense. “Star Wars often is credited as heralding the beginning of a revival of grand symphonic scores in the late 1970s. One technique in particular is an influence: Williams’s used a technique called leitmotif. “A leitmotif is a phrase or melodic cell that signifies a character, place, plot element, mood, idea, relationship or other specific part of the film.” I chose my favorite STAR WARS scores performed by Williams – enjoy!
This song is of course the Main Theme song for STAR WARS that really anyone who doesn’t live under a rock should know, or should have heard at least once in their life. It was created in 1977, featured in all the STAR WARS films, cartoons, and video games since, and was originally performed by The London Symphony Orchestra.
This song entitled Imperial March is my second favorite song by John Williams and is significant because it is the intro to Darth Vader! This score was written in 1980 and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, it is also known as Darth Vader’s Theme.
This is an excerpt from STAR WARS episode III, which features John Williams powerful music in the background titled Duel of the Fates. This score was written from October 1998 to February of 1999 and performed by The London Symphony Orchestra. I liked the clip because it shows how he related his powerful music to intense scenes.
This is another favorite of mine, John Williams creates a unique sound to portray aliens playing in the Cantina on Tatooine its entitled Cantina Band, written in 1977. “To produce the piece, Williams brought in nine jazz musicians, a solo trumpet, two saxophones, a saxophonist who also played clarinet, a Fender Rhodes piano, a Caribbean steel drum, another drum, various percussion instruments, and an ARP synthesizer for the bass. To give the instruments a more alien quality, the music was filtered so the bottom end of the sound was clipped, the lower end was attenuated, and a reverb was added to thin the instruments out.”
This score is entitled Binary Sunset and is used in multiple memorable scenes. It was written in 1977 and performed by The London Symphony Orchestra
This is the Anakin and Padme love song titled Across the Stars. “Across the Stars is the primary thematic music of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. The piece was composed by John Williams to accompany the romance between Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, and is used frequently throughout the film and its sequel, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.” It was written in 2002 and performed by The London Symphony Orchestra, and The London Voices.
March at the Jedi Temple or Jedi Temple March is set to Anakin marching against the Jedi and really marks the transition from Anakin to Darth Vader. It was written in 2005 and performed by The London Symphony Orchestra.
The Throne Room is played during the Medal Ceremony at the end of Episode IV. I thought this selection a fitting song for the end of my virtual exhibit for John Williams. After listening to these scores one can get a feel for how commanding his songs were and how they made such an impact on the STAR WARS saga. When I listen to a piece of his music created for STAR WARS I can picture almost every scene that it’s played in. This may sound nerdy or sappy, but there have been many scores/scenes that have sparked intense emotion in me.
The next artist I would like to feature in my virtual exhibit is Ralph McQuarrie. Ralph McQuarrie is a fabulous artist and literally changed how we view Sci Fi forever. “Ralph Angus McQuarrie (June 13, 1929 – March 3, 2012) was an American conceptual designer and illustrator who designed the original Star Wars trilogy, the original Battlestar Galactica TV series, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Cocoon, for which he won an Academy Award.” If it weren’t for Ralph’s contributions to STAR WARS it may never have been approved for production by 20th Century Fox. “His influence on design will be felt forever,” a statement on McQuarrie’s website reads. “There’s no doubt in our hearts that centuries from now amazing spaceships will soar, future cities will rise and someone, somewhere will say… ‘that looks like something Ralph McQuarrie painted.”
Ralph McQuarrie forever changed the way we envisioned Sci Fi, his works are amazing, and I for one, will forever be in his debt for bringing me years of entertainment, and sparking my own imagination as well as for millions of others. I found a slew of awesome pieces of his art work but I could not find the information on them, such as when they were painted, where, and what the titles are. The subject matter is pretty clear to STAR WARS fans. Even on Ralph McQuarrie’s own website non of the paintings/drawings are labeled with the information on when and where and what the title is, for the purpose of this blog I will place a blurb explaining the content and use of the paintings. Even if anyone reading this is not a fan, they can still get an appreciation for Ralph’s beautiful art work – enjoy!
A picture of Ralph McQuarrie, with his works featured in the background.
This is an advertising poster for The Empire Strikes Back, Episode V. It features the infamous Jedi Master Yoda on the planet of Dagoba, where after failing to kill the evil Darth Sidious he hid from the Jedi cleansing carried out by Darth Vader.
The Millenium Falcon in port on Tatooine. Featured in Episode IV, A New Hope.
Luke’s Daring escape from Jabba after trying to rescue Han Solo in Episode VI, Return of the Jedi.
The alien band at Jabba’s palace in Episode VI Return of the Jedi.
An AT-ST Imperial Walker on the planet of Yavin in Episode VI.
Darth Vader on Cloud City, capturing Han Solo and Princess Leia seen in Episode V.
Yoda’s home on Dagoba, seen in Episodes V & VI
Painting of C-3PO and R2-D2 in Jabba’s palace seen in Episode VI.
Beautiful and detailed painting of a Sandcrawler used by Jawas as a transport vehicle on the planet Tatooine. Seen in Episode IV.
Bounty Hunters, employed by Darth Vader in Episode V.
Darth Vader battling with his son, Luke in Episode VI.
http://performingarts.about.com/od/Costumes/a/Famed-Star-Wars-Artist-Passes-Away.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/04/showbiz/star-wars-death/index.html
http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2012/11/10/164615420/john-williams-inevitable-themes
http://www.examiner.com/article/the-other-great-works-of-ralph-mcquarrie
http://www.ralphmcquarrie.com/gallery_1/star_wars/jedi/index.html
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page
danscottlawrence 
What an amazing gallery! I am a HUGE sci-fi fan, and Star Wars is easily my favorite science fiction saga. I especially like the prequels to the original (though many old school star wars fans would consider that remark akin to heresy), but I love the original trilogy as well. The reason I like the prequels more isn’t what you might think. It’s the story, learning the origins of Darth Vader, the Empire, and the Rebellion, rather than the updated graphics and light-saber duels (though these are awesome too).
You certainly met all of the blog requirements for this assignment, and then some. Very well done, I appreciate the art and music of Star Wars. My favorite song is probably the imperial march, and Darth Vader has always been one of my favorite characters.
I wish I’d thought to do a silent hill music gallery. That would’ve been a bit interesting, to expose some of my fellow classmates to the lyrical and instrumental works of Joe Romersa and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. Very nice, love the work you put into this 😀
I may be admitting myself a nerd here, but you have no idea how happy it made me to stumble upon your blog among the many, and then to read the intro with my anticipation building to…yes.. it is… I knew it… STAR WARS!
What a fantastic idea! One can certainly tell you are a true fan from your language and the dedication to and effort employed with this posting. It was a very engaging post from the beginning and it got better and better as it progressed. Great choices to honor and it was nice to have a music and visual art blend for your exhibit. I’ve always loved the score to Star Wars, and William’s has such an impressive resume-but none can rival Star Wars in recognition aside from possibly the “Dah-Duh” of Jaws. While I was less familiar with Ralph McQuarrie as an individual I’ve always found the artwork fantastic for the imagination and beyond satisfactory in terms of technique. While his details are amazing in his close ups I find I am even more drawn to the scenes such as the the painting of the Sandcrawler used by Jawas on Tatooine.
Star Wars is full of that leitmotif that absolutely does get to claim responsibility for some of the sustaining popularity of Star Wars. It is because of Williams that I could express my beliefs to a friend that his or her partner is evil, simply by assigning The Imperial March as the ringtone for that partner when they call. Thank you for including songs beyond the big ones, as I think you did William’s true justice in this. I particularly appreciated Duel of the Fates as I agree that it is a great example of his pairing powerful music with intense drama.
I think it was brave of you to post about something that you are so dedicated to and have so much history with. It’s a wonderful thing when music is powerful enough to bring you back to a place in your mind when you hear it.