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Artist Terence Hannum melds music and art
March 3, 2008
The Dallas Morning News: Guide Live
Michael Granberry
March 3, 2008
The Dallas Morning News: Guide Live
Michael Granberry
When Terence Hannum was just a kid, 11 or so, he spent his summers in Washington, D.C., where his father lived. His parents were divorced. Dad worked as a private detective, which left his enterprising son, now 29, with plenty of time to play.
"Play" for Terence meant cruising the Metro to as many museums as possible. At 11, he wasn't exactly Mr. Moneybags. Museums let him in for free, so while Dad was off investigating whatever it is private detectives investigate, an art career was being born.
"I would go to the Hirshhorn or the National Gallery," says Mr. Hannum, whose cutting-edge exhibition "Don't Give Up the Ghost" is on view through April 5 at Light & Sie Gallery in the Design District. He performed there Thursday night. That's right – performed. He's an artist who plays loud, experimental music, on which much of his art is based.
"During one of those visits to Washington, I remember going to an exhibition by Félix González-Torres," a Cuban artist known for his quiet, minimalist paintings and sculptures. Mr. González-Torres uses objects – light bulbs, clocks, hard candies – to amplify his work, much of which reflects his experience with AIDS.
Terence Hannum says he loves music for the platform it gives him to collaborate with others, and art for its inherent singularity.
"I didn't understand it," Mr. Hannum says with a laugh. "But I knew there was something there."
Born in New Jersey, he finished high school and college in Florida before heading to graduate school in Chicago, where he and his wife make their home. Erica Burgner-Hannum shares his passion for music and, along with her husband, belongs to the four-member band Unlucky Atlas.
He describes its music as "doom folk ... apocalyptic." His other group, Locrian, which he shares with Andre Foisy (who's also in Unlucky Atlas, along with his wife), specializes in "experimental heavy-metal music. Very loud," Mr. Hannum says with a laugh.
For as long as he can remember, Mr. Hannum, who has a narrow, angular face framed by short hair and retro sideburns, has felt a passion for "punk music, hard-core music. Music is how I relate to most people."
But at Florida Southern College, the small liberal arts school he attended as an undergraduate, he also developed an interest in art. "Foolishly," he says, "I thought it would be easy."
Easy or not, it became a refuge. He believed for years that he would enter the seminary and cultivate a career in theology. And while his parents admire a passion and artistic talent that continues to thrive, with numerous exhibitions in impressive venues along the way, they remain disappointed, he says with a wry chuckle, that art and music – instead of the seminary – lured him in.
At graduate school, he was introduced to an extraordinary artist, Jim Nutt, who became a mentor, albeit a difficult taskmaster.
"Nobody wanted to have him as an adviser," says Mr. Hannum. "He was very tough. He didn't care what the work was about. He just wanted to know: 'Does it draw you in?' And no, initially, we did not have a great relationship."
And then Mr. Hannum brought in a painting, which, like much of his work, was inspired by music.
"He was like, 'Well, I don't care about the music, but this seems interesting.' It meant a lot, because we didn't get along. Like I said, he was very tough."
But in the end, he learned a lot, so much in fact that it became "a pivotal moment in my life."
And now, he finds himself growing fiercely in two directions. He loves music for the platform it gives him to collaborate with others, but he loves art for its inherent singularity. In the world of Terence Hannum, the two almost always meet and merge.
He says he craves the ritual of live music, which informs much of the Light & Sie exhibition. He's especially enamored of the raw power of music "to channel emotion ... something you've suppressed. That's why I love records. ... I love everything about them."
He is, however, a throwback, one who vastly prefers vinyl over digital.
"You have to actively engage it," he says almost reverently. "You flip it and hold it in your hands."
And as you might imagine, he listens to everything he gets his hands on, from classical to "black metal" to Kraftwerk, a German band whose synthesizer sounds hark back to the 1970s.
But is there ever within him a tension or competition between art and music? In a word, no.
"I feel right now like it's perfect," he says. "It's a good balance. Truthfully, I wouldn't have it any other way."
Plan your life
"Don't Give Up the Ghost," by Terence Hannum, will be on view through April 5 at Light & Sie Gallery, 129 Leslie St. Hours: noon to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Free. 214-745-2255, www.lightandsie.com.
"Play" for Terence meant cruising the Metro to as many museums as possible. At 11, he wasn't exactly Mr. Moneybags. Museums let him in for free, so while Dad was off investigating whatever it is private detectives investigate, an art career was being born.
"I would go to the Hirshhorn or the National Gallery," says Mr. Hannum, whose cutting-edge exhibition "Don't Give Up the Ghost" is on view through April 5 at Light & Sie Gallery in the Design District. He performed there Thursday night. That's right – performed. He's an artist who plays loud, experimental music, on which much of his art is based.
"During one of those visits to Washington, I remember going to an exhibition by Félix González-Torres," a Cuban artist known for his quiet, minimalist paintings and sculptures. Mr. González-Torres uses objects – light bulbs, clocks, hard candies – to amplify his work, much of which reflects his experience with AIDS.
Terence Hannum says he loves music for the platform it gives him to collaborate with others, and art for its inherent singularity.
"I didn't understand it," Mr. Hannum says with a laugh. "But I knew there was something there."
Born in New Jersey, he finished high school and college in Florida before heading to graduate school in Chicago, where he and his wife make their home. Erica Burgner-Hannum shares his passion for music and, along with her husband, belongs to the four-member band Unlucky Atlas.
He describes its music as "doom folk ... apocalyptic." His other group, Locrian, which he shares with Andre Foisy (who's also in Unlucky Atlas, along with his wife), specializes in "experimental heavy-metal music. Very loud," Mr. Hannum says with a laugh.
For as long as he can remember, Mr. Hannum, who has a narrow, angular face framed by short hair and retro sideburns, has felt a passion for "punk music, hard-core music. Music is how I relate to most people."
But at Florida Southern College, the small liberal arts school he attended as an undergraduate, he also developed an interest in art. "Foolishly," he says, "I thought it would be easy."
Easy or not, it became a refuge. He believed for years that he would enter the seminary and cultivate a career in theology. And while his parents admire a passion and artistic talent that continues to thrive, with numerous exhibitions in impressive venues along the way, they remain disappointed, he says with a wry chuckle, that art and music – instead of the seminary – lured him in.
At graduate school, he was introduced to an extraordinary artist, Jim Nutt, who became a mentor, albeit a difficult taskmaster.
"Nobody wanted to have him as an adviser," says Mr. Hannum. "He was very tough. He didn't care what the work was about. He just wanted to know: 'Does it draw you in?' And no, initially, we did not have a great relationship."
And then Mr. Hannum brought in a painting, which, like much of his work, was inspired by music.
"He was like, 'Well, I don't care about the music, but this seems interesting.' It meant a lot, because we didn't get along. Like I said, he was very tough."
But in the end, he learned a lot, so much in fact that it became "a pivotal moment in my life."
And now, he finds himself growing fiercely in two directions. He loves music for the platform it gives him to collaborate with others, but he loves art for its inherent singularity. In the world of Terence Hannum, the two almost always meet and merge.
He says he craves the ritual of live music, which informs much of the Light & Sie exhibition. He's especially enamored of the raw power of music "to channel emotion ... something you've suppressed. That's why I love records. ... I love everything about them."
He is, however, a throwback, one who vastly prefers vinyl over digital.
"You have to actively engage it," he says almost reverently. "You flip it and hold it in your hands."
And as you might imagine, he listens to everything he gets his hands on, from classical to "black metal" to Kraftwerk, a German band whose synthesizer sounds hark back to the 1970s.
But is there ever within him a tension or competition between art and music? In a word, no.
"I feel right now like it's perfect," he says. "It's a good balance. Truthfully, I wouldn't have it any other way."
Plan your life
"Don't Give Up the Ghost," by Terence Hannum, will be on view through April 5 at Light & Sie Gallery, 129 Leslie St. Hours: noon to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Free. 214-745-2255, www.lightandsie.com.
