Illustrations by Maggie McMahon
9 August – 9 October | Conservatorium of Music Library
Playing on René Descartes famous expression ‘I think, therefore I am’, Nicky Gluch’s PhD research contemplates what it means to be a conductor.
Gluch explores this question by interrogating the influence of Descartes’ philosophy on Western society alongside the philosophy of Baruch Spinoza, opening up an alternate way of thinking about the relationship between the mind and body, and leaders and followers. The aim of Gluch’s work is to show that leadership does not need to be hierarchical but can rather be relational – an idea of relevance both on and off the podium.
A challenge of theoretical research is that it is often highly conceptual and as such Gluch commissioned illustrator Maggie McMahon to depict 10 key concepts from her work. These illustrations encapsulate five themes, paired with five figures, to tell a story about music leadership:
- Text Descartes
- Breath Adam (Genesis)
- Bodies Felix Mendelssohn
- Space Richard Wagner
- Unity Spinoza.
The five figures will be brought to life with examples of scores and other texts from the Library and Rare Books & Special Collections.
You can also be part of the conversation about what it means to be a conductor by following #sydneyconresearch #orchestralconductor through August and September 2022.
A selection of illustrations by Maggie McMahon
Exhibition Talk with Illustrator
Maggie McMahon
The Conservatorium of Music Library hosted a conversation between Nicky Gluch and illustrator Maggie McMahon to discuss how Nicky’s research was translated into these illustrations for the exhibition.
You can watch the entire conversation on the Library’s Instagram Live here.