Nanopublication — Systematic Exploration of Bb Minor Harmonic Tensions

Context

This work belongs to the Synesthetic Explorations collection, a body of nearly two hundred small- and medium-scale paintings that translate musical harmony into visual composition. The project proceeds systematically: I explore triadic harmony across all semitones and major/minor keys, producing multiple variations for each chord to investigate the range of compositional possibilities a single harmonic structure can yield.

The Bb minor triad — Bb, Db, F — maps to a palette confined almost entirely to the purple family: purple for the root, blue-green for the minor third, and red-purple for the fifth. This chromatic proximity presents a specific compositional challenge. Unlike triads whose mapped colors span a wider range of the spectrum, Bb minor demands that I find tension and structure within a narrow band of related hues. The variations I produce for this chord are exercises in finding differentiation within affinity.

AQC0612 is a medium-format acrylic on canvas (30×40 cm), situated between the small paper études and the larger canvas works in the collection. It derives, like all pieces in this series, from piano voicings and harmonic studies at the keyboard, translated into visual form.