QC musician draws inspiration from art

Great art has inspired composers for centuries – from Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” to Don McLean’s “Vincent” to Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park With George.”

So it’s only natural that the Figge Art Museum, 225 W. 2^nd St., Davenport, is re-creating a pre-COVID program giving the public a new perspective on its art through the songs of Quad Cities musicians.

On Thursday, May 23 at 6:30 p.m., you can join KAS Music on this one-of-a-kind tour of the Figge’s galleries. Every Thursday night from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., the Figge is free and open to all, featuring free programs weekly.

The 22-year-old singer-songwriter Kas Shewell performed outside the Figge last fall, with art on the plaza, and the museum later reached out to her to restart their musical tours in 2024. Shewell chose specific pieces at the Figge, and it was up to her which ones to feature.

“I really wanted to write five new songs for it, and I have three new songs,” she said Monday at the Figge. Two others Shewell wrote previously.

“I got to completely decide where I’m taking the audience,” she said.

Over the years, the Figge has hosted musicians to give what they call “musical tours.” These tours give visitors an opportunity to experience artworks in a new way.

“Rather than providing art historical information about each of the artworks, the musicians select artworks that resonate with them and pair the artworks with songs — sometimes they’re songs they wrote before but that connect with the artworks and sometimes the songs are new compositions that were inspired by the artworks,” Figge spokeswoman Natalie Dunlop said recently by email.

“While the visitors are looking at each artwork and listening to each song, our hope is that they have an experience that is personally meaningful, that they see and hear art in new ways, and that they are inspired to be creative themselves,” she said. “Creativity comes in many forms and we love working with artists/musicians to explore and experiment.”

Shewell was recommended to the art museum for the Community Open House hosted by the Figge Community Advisory Council, back in September.

“We had a wonderful time working with her for that and invited her to come back as a featured musician for a musical tour,” Dunlop said.

Thursday will be the first musical tour they’ve offered since the pandemic. The last one was in March of 2020 and was actually the last Thursday program before the museum closed to the public. That musician was Mo Carter.

Hunting for inspiration

Three of the artworks Shewell will sing about are all next to each other on the second floor. The first is a large painting called “Trophies of the Hunt” by Alexander Pope, which features dead birds and antlers.

There are two statues in front of it, one of two people dancing, leaning against each other and arms interlocked. There is another statue of two peacocks about to fight.

“I’ve always loved the statue of two people leaning against each other; I’ve always found it so intriguing,” Shewell said Monday. “It’s the juxtaposition of how much balance it takes between those two and how much grace and ease it looks like they have for it. I also really like the almost mirroring of it with the two birds fighting. There’s such a balance between those two, even though there’s more violence.”

She will start her first three songs there, with two new ones. One is called “Trophies of the Hunt,” openly inspired by the painting, sung from the perspective of the prey looking at the hunter, through the lens of guilt and balance.

“I love writing lyrically and poetry about nature,” Shewell said. “And I love exploring the themes of femininity, and love and grief, and more of a spiritual aspect, through the lens of nature – both its beauty and the gore of it.”

That song is about the inherent balance between something in power and something under its power, and how both those have a pull on the other.

“That’s explored in the two statues,” she said. “The other two songs I’ve chosen are specifically inspired by the two people dancing, in that the tension there is in love – because there’s a taut line being stretched at all times. There’s kind of a balance that’s always taking place.”

Shewell is exploring that balance of both love and that tension. That can apply to any type of love or relationship.

One of her pre-existing songs is called “Lullaby for Him As We Both Return,” which is about forgiveness and coming back to a relationship after a breakup.

“I’m not going anywhere, it’s OK, kind of repairing that,” she said of that reunion and unconditional love.

Another new song is called “Find Me There,” also about love, to be the relief in someone’s life. The chorus says, “I wanna be the good thing in the end,” Shewell said. “It’s a very desperate, want to be that for someone.”

Loving museums and galleries

About a year ago, she wrote a song where she mentioned the sculpture of people dancing. “I remember thinking, I want to come back here and work on writing while I’m here,” she said. “I would say museums and art galleries, I’d say every time I leave, I’ve been inspired and I want to start working on something.”

Shewell usually is more inspired to write by books and art, than other music or songwriters.

“Something I really like about this program, what’s nice about the balance between having a musical performance and viewing the art is – when I’m exploring these themes and subjects, I’m able to not just give a voice to my interpretation of the art,” she said.

“But the art is giving a visual to something my music physically can’t give a visual to. So you’re hitting all the senses – the visual, audio, and lyrical,” Shewell said. “You’re kind of covering it all with it, which is really cool.”

There are so many songs of hers based on her life and experiences, like many songwriters.

“You can only write about your own stuff until you’re just kind of singing the same song over and over,” she said.

“It kind of scratches an itch that’s there,” Shewell said of her songs. “You can’t live multiple lives, but you can do that when you’re a writer, you can lie a little bit, basically.”

Making up stories for years

A 2020 Rock Island High alum, she’s been writing seriously since she was a teen, but has been making up stories and songs since she was little.

“I was a writer before I could physically write – I would tell my mom what to write down because I didn’t know how to write the words, but I had a story in my head,” Shewell said, noting she started around when she was 5.

“I’d always liked writing, but I started sculpting it in a way that was more lyrical and poetry, in high school,” she said.

She’s worked for Sound Conservatory for two years, now 24 hours a week, and serves as event coordinator.

“I think we’ve had a lot more business in Moline,” Shewell said of the music school and store moving from downtown Rock Island to downtown Moline last November. “We’ve had a big jump in the event participation. We’re averaging 120 people now at concerts, which is insane. Just a lot more community engagement too.”

She’s performing in a new music series, Lewis Knudsen’s Pin Drop Sessions, which is invitation-only, the next one is on Monday, Memorial Day (also featuring Chris Avey and Randy Leasman). Shewell’s next public gig will be June 9 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Coffee House in the Village of East Davenport.

The next Sound Conservatory concert is this Saturday at 7 p.m. (504 17^th St., Moline) with Big Fun Jazz, a six-piece ensemble renowned for their captivating performances spanning the funk, soul, and jazz fusion, drawing inspiration from the rich musical tapestry of the ’60s, ’70s, and beyond.

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