The Unknown Note
by Charles Hascoet
"In a small film shot at his home one summer, Luis Bunuel demonstrates how to make the perfect dry martini.
First, he takes a large glass filled with ice and adds Noilly Prat and Angostura, mixing them together.
In this way, the liqueurs subtly yet decisively imbue the ice.
Then, he pours gin over the ice, mixes again, and pours the resulting drink into a new glass.
The note of the liqueurs is almost a memory, yet it plays a crucial role in the balance of the dry martini. It enchants it to the point of transforming it.
I often think of this anecdote when I wonder what influence the music I'm listening to would have on the painting I'm making in my studio.
This little tune that floats around the studio inevitably influences the work, like an elusive ray of light that crosses a window.
Whether it's a Rock scar or Rococo disco, a passage through the conservatory or simply a precious and intimate relationship, this unknown note tells something unique and fundamental in the work of each artist.
And if our way of painting tells our way of existing, then our relationship to music tells our way of being alive."
Marie de Villepin, Safe as Milk, 2023
