Loribelle Spirovski is an artist living with chronic pain. Several years ago she woke in the night experiencing a terrible crushing sensation in her arm, which sustained and would later be diagnosed as thoracic outlet syndrome. Sadly, she thought her life as an artist would be untenable.
But by the power of music, visual art and obviously her own tenacity, she persevered, and her portrait of musician William Barton has won the People’s Choice Award in the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ Archibald Prize.
She is only the 8th woman to win and to add another accolade the gallery recorded 40,842 votes cast for her work, the largest amount ever in the history of the prize. “It’s the most humbling thing to win the People’s Choice because there is no pretentiousness; it’s really just people going with their gut” she said to the ABC.
Barton is a proud Kalkadunga man, musician, composer and producer who has pushed the boundaries of his artistry and the Yidaki instrument by engaging with classical music. In the large scale work (which mirrors Barton’s tall frame) he is pictured sitting in his dining room with a warm grin, holding his instrument. Set in Barton’s home the image is casual and joyous, light streams in illuminating the kaleidoscope of colours in the interior and his shining smile. The Director of the AGNSW Maud Page said; people tend to vote for the expression of a work of art as well as the sitter.
Spirovski herself was captivated by the sitter. She has been a finalist four times now, painting John Bell (2017) and Nicholas Hope (2018), and Megan Washington (2019), but was close to giving up painting due to her ongoing nerve injury. After hearing Barton speak and then witnessing him in concert she felt inspired by the ‘undeniable power in his music’. Wanting to paint him but too shy to ask, her husband, a pianist performing that same night, Simon Tedeschi did the honours.
The next bit of magic came as busy Barton could only sit for 2 hours. During that time he sang and played the Yidaki as she worked away. Spirovski said to SBS “Something about William and something about the music, it just switched in me and I physically threw the brush away and dipped my hand in the paint. I think his music is so transcendent that you can’t help but channel that within you”.
Indeed. It is a wonder to behold this likeness and play with light achieved by ‘finger painting’ in oils on a large canvas.
The artist expanded on the symbiosis of music and painting to the AGNSW “For years, I’ve been recovering from an injury that has made painting difficult and painful. Many times, I’ve questioned my role as an artist…As the music began, my hand set the brush aside and I dipped my finger into the soft, pliant paint. I turned the volume up, the music guiding me. Without a brush, painting was almost painless. As the portrait painted itself, I felt alive in a way I hadn’t for a very long time.”
Spirovski has said that she and Barton are ‘people that live for their art’. This resonates and translates in the image. Moreover the work and the news of its popular reception is an example of the power of both music and visual art. It shows that one artist can be a catalyst for another and that feeling of optimism can be carried forward to an audience who receive the artwork. Then, people chose to celebrate Spirovski and Barton with this landslide win, a beautiful loop of creativity and positivity.
Birdsong at Dusk was the song Barton performed as Spirovski painted. Listen to it below.
You can follow Spirovski here.