New York based artist Todd DiCiurcio creates mixed media drawings which grasp the electric experience of the “live” musical performance. For over a decade as both an artist and a witness, he chose to depict the immediacy of modern culture by rendering the live performances of contemporary musicians through ink and graphite. His drawings are as spontaneous as the performances themselves, created in one continuous line. By rendering in visual language the temporality of music, DiCiurcio creates significant and poignantly energetic aesthetic compositions. His unchained use of lines produces spontaneous but at the same time highly elaborated images.

The videos representing Todd DiCiurcio in the process of creating his drawings are synchronic performances in themselves, highlighting the craftsmanship which goes into each artwork, as well as the collaboration between the visual artist and the band. Some of the bands DiCiurcio has documented include Guided by Voices, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Bon Jovi, Kings of Leon, Dinosaur Jr., Bob Mould, Broken Social Scene, Exitmusic, The English Beat, Grizzly Bear, BP Fallon, The Killers and many others.

In the artist’s own words, “My identification with the music’s lyrical content and precise delivery in the live context enables me to become a physical and visual conduit for the shared experience of the performance within the tradition of drawing from life. While I draw, the sensation of every mark is a direct reaction to the experience of sound. The drawings are visceral responses to the sounds and energy that are unique to each of these bands.”