Title

Music for the living.

Author

Tsounis, Demeter.

Source

[Not applicable]

Type

About the work

Language

English

Country of context

Australia

Full text

Music for the living.

In my print Music for the living, I have used the image of family and friends making music in the past to show the integral nature of music within the everyday life of Greek-speaking people. Music and dance conveys messages about the life experiences of the people who participate in them — of their hardships and problems, and of their plans and hopes for the future. The modern Greek ‘laiko’ song, Here in this foreign land, which I quote in the print, expresses the downgrading and alienating experience of migration, a reality that has too often been glossed over in the reified stereotypical representations of certain 'ethnic' cultures. Music is a rallying point for coping with, and resolving, contradictions that people face in their everyday social life. The photo­graphs and stories of my family and friends show that music was used for this purpose, and today it continues to play this role for my generation of Australian-born Greeks.

© Demeter Tsounis

Last Updated

27 Sep 2020