Energy Fields: Earle Brown, Open Form, and the Visual Arts

This chapter explores the American composer Earle Brown's connections with the visual arts of the 1950s and 60s. In particular it looks at the evolution of various notational processes in relation to Abstract Expressionist painting, Buckminster Fuller's conception of geometry, and the mobiles of Alexander Calder. It is the first book chapter to consider Brown's own paintings and the effect these had on his compositional practice, as well as introducing the little known 'Folio 2' a collection of informal graphic scores. It draws on original material and interviews by the author with the composer.