The name is absent

60

In its initial form, the work was available for rental from Oxford Press for just a
few years, and withdrawn in 1996 because Larsen could not secure permission to use the
text from the O’Keeffe estate.¹⁸ When the work was revised nine years later, the idea of a
multimedia presentation was abandoned. The piece no longer exists in its original form.

Similarities Between Larsen and O’Keeffe

Larsen is one of many composers who have used Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings as a
source for inspiration in their compositions.¹⁹ Contemporary artists from all genres have
been drawn to O’Keeffe for her diverse collection of work, achievements, individualism,
and stature in the art world: her legacy is vast.

Three significant elements connect the lives and work of these two women. The
first is their shared affinity for the Southwest and its natural beauty. Although Larsen has
lived almost exclusively in Minnesota,²⁰ she has traveled to New Mexico several times,
and is drawn to its history, topography, and character.²¹ She wanted to study with
composer William Woods at the University of New Mexico in graduate school, but
¹⁸ Larsen believes that it is unlikely that it was performed much if at all during this time
because of the rental fees. (Larsen, interview 7/2009).

¹⁹ John Harbison wrote a piano quartet in 1981 that “emulates the clarity and open spaces
of [O’Keeffe’s] images.” Other composers who have written O’Keeffe inspired works
include JeffMcCune, James Newton, Ronald Perera, Tobias Picker, Marga Richter and
Dan Welcher, as well as a handful of rock artists. (Gary Evans, Music Inspired by Art,
Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2002, 185).

²⁰ Larsen spent the first three years of her life in Delaware but has lived in Minneapolis
ever since.

21

Larsen remarks: “I love New Mexico. If, had it not been for financial circumstances
and graduate school, I probably would be living in New Mexico. I would love nothing
more than to live in a very small dusty old town in New Mexico” (Larsen, interview
8/2008).

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