Made you look! Unexpected. Outrageous. Bizarre. Would it be fun to use a photo depicting humor in a presentation?
Susan says, “This photo of a pink piano speaks to me about music and humor. It’s as if music is wildly exploding out of the piano in colored spikes and white bubbly shapes. That the keyboard is surrounded by hot red lips is another great touch with the keys themselves becoming a gigantic set of choppers. Then consider the pianist himself. He’s dressed in black and seems quietly centered and poised – unconcerned that the piano he’s playing is exploding in front of him or that he is playing though keys set inside violently red lips. The contrast between the tranquil pianist and his instrument is comic, surely?
Humor Can Offer Relief and Give Your Audience a Break from Your Serious Message
”What purpose could an image like this serve in your presentation? I suspect that because humor is hard to do, very little is found in presentations. It is even more rarely found in presentations about very serious topics. I think audiences need relief from the unrelenting bad news, or urgings to change, or to give money or service. Humor, when it is used well, offers a breather.
“Pianists and music majors might find this photo welcome relief from a discussion about music theory, pedagogy, performance. And how about audiologists because, here the sound of music which has no visual representation other than notes on sheet music, is comically displayed. Or how using this image in a presentation to a deaf audience which cannot hear music but only feel the thud of bass or percussion. Is this an accurate depiction of what music “looks like”?
“You might wonder why it was initially commissioned and then exhibited by the Portland Museum of Art… Again perhaps it was designed as a depiction of sound or the percussive nature of sound created by the piano (which is considered a percussion instrument). Or maybe it’s just for fun and merriment, outside a museum filled with serious art.”
Humor from the ‘Piano Monster Fur Elise’
Lucia says, “What fun Susan had with this photo. Her description of the wild piano and the tranquil pianist sitting on the score is a blast. I especially like how her description matches the whimsy of this art piece. Now I’m going to let you in on a secret, an explanation of the art installation. Because it’s too small and difficult to read in this photo, I’ve copied what is written on the card posted to the right of the pianist.
‘Legend has it that Beethoven’s piano classic Fur Elise’s original score was lost to the ages, and that iterations thereafter have not been as perfect as he conceived. Our piano monster, Fur Elise, grew from the very keys he composed on. After the ages of inferior renditions, Fur Elise grows a new hair with every wrong note, hungry for the perfect score. Her eyes wild with remembrance on his perfect playing…. She encourages you to this day to try your best and break her spell. Play her, won’t you? …please?’
Looks like our brave pianist took on the challenge, choppers and all. “
