DESCRIPTION:
Steve Reich (1936- ), Octet-Eight Lines, Full Version, performed by Steve Reich and Musicians, April 1979. Paintings are by Jackson Pollock (1912-1956).

"The point is, if you went to Paris and dug up Debussy and said, 'Excusez-moi Monsieur, are you an impressionist?' he'd probably say 'Merde!' and go back to sleep. That is a legitimate concern of musicologists, music historians, and journalists, and it's a convenient way of referring to me, Riley, Glass, La Monte Young [...] it's become the dominant style. But, anybody who's interested in French Impressionism is interested in how different Debussy and Ravel and Satie are—and ditto for what's called minimalism. [...] Basically, those kind of words are taken from painting and sculpture, and applied to musicians who composed at the same period as that painting and sculpture was made [...]."
S.R.—From an Interview with Rebecca Y. Kim, 2000 [23]

"When I am in my painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It is only after a sort of 'get acquainted' period that I see what I have been about. I have no fear of making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the painting comes out well." J.P.