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It took Da Vinci almost four years to complete the Mona Lisa.
For David Garibaldi, painting a portrait double the size takes less than 10 minutes.
Garibaldi, a performance painter, showed the speed of his ability on Oct. 24 at Fairfield University’s Quick Center. He performed his original stage act entitled “Rhythm and Hue,” in which he rapidly paints celebrity portraits in rhythmic harmony with popular songs.
With the help of an onstage DJ and drummer, the performance began with a remix of songs by The Beatles. Within seconds, Garibaldi began chaotically stroking paint on his black canvas, throwing each brush before dunking another into a paint can.
Within six minutes, one could fully understand the meaning of the name “Rhythm and Hue.” What began as a mess of color magically took shape as a 6’ x 5’ portrait of The Beatles’ John Lennon.
In a mid-performance speech, Garibaldi described the message of his work, which is that a person’s passion holds unlimited potential. He explained to the audience the importance of pursuing one’s dreams and how this pursuit can change the world, citing the philanthropic work of Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg.
“It’s how we begin to use this passion as a platform, when we apply this purpose behind it that we see the world change,” said Garibaldi.
Seconds later, Aerosmith’s “Dream On” began playing as Garibaldi started throwing paints and brushes. After only seven minutes, the audience was looking at a portrait of a man who changed the world by saying that he had a dream – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Originally from Los Angeles, Garibaldi started out as a graffiti artist. After dropping out of high school, he realized his dream after watching performance painter Denny Dent’s rendition of Jimi Hendrix.
Since creating “Rhythm and Hue,” Garibaldi has sold his paintings and donated a majority of the proceeds to charities such as the Special Olympics. With over $700,000 donated, he will soon reach his personal goal of raising $1 million for charity.
The audience, consisting mostly of students and their families, seemed to enjoy the event. Although the Quick Center was only filled to roughly half capacity, the general consensus was a positive one.
“I thought he was enchanting,” said A.J. Ottavi, a resident of Southington. “The level of how art and music were mixed was so much more than I expected it to be.”
Others voiced similar sentiments. “Even without the music, you could tell who the paintings were supposed to be. But the music definitely added so much to it,” said Brianna Calvi-Rogers, visiting sister of Fairfield University student Tyler Calvi-Rogers ‘13.
For the presentation’s finale, Garibaldi began by ambiguously telling the audience to “pay attention.” With a brush in each hand, he started slapping paint on the canvas in synchronization with the drummer’s seemingly spontaneous cymbal crashes.
After seven minutes, the painting didn’t seem to resemble anything, let alone anyone. With a knowing smile, he turned the canvas upside down, revealing a portrait of Albert Einstein.
Through the combination of his beliefs, his painting, and music into a cohesive performance, Garibaldi showed that no dream is too ridiculous to pursue – even if it’s throwing paint on a canvas to the beat of a song.
Video of Garbaldi painting Albert Einstein
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