Linnea, Live Paintings

Action painting dates back to the Ming dynasty of China where ink painters famed for their artistic expressiveness and quick bold brush strokes expanded from the brushstrokes derived from Chinese calligraphy. Their revolutionary painting style influenced and inspired countless subsequent painters who dared to explore the expressiveness and immediacy of fluid brushstrokes.

Linnea Maas was introduced to the concept of Live Painting in 2005 at an event by a local action painter and DJ. The combination of live art and music made for an awe-inspiring and magically creative atmosphere that Linnea had never seen before. 

Her own debut as a live painter came several years later and her first performance was at Intermedia Arts in February 2008 with Minneapolis rock group, Marvelle. She was hooked on live art and stayed in the group as their only non-musical member until they disbanded in 2011.

Linnea’s current explorations into live music collaborations are in the virtual world where she has started experimenting with 3D painting, a totally revolutionary process. She paints wearing a headset and headphones, moving and drawing in space while DJ Paul Knox mixes live. This collaboration offers even more feedback between artist and musician, as the sound waves actually move the virtual brushstrokes to the beat.

The paintings in this exhibit were created as performance pieces. Each artwork was done in front of live audiences, providing visual accompaniment to music by a band, musician, or DJ, and all the paintings were each started and completed during a single performance.