Located on the lower level of the Music Building, in the Music Library (room B59), is a place for music visualized. This gallery features rotating displays of art by local artists, both within the JMU community and beyond. What makes this gallery unique is the connection between visual art and music.

The gallery is open for all to visit during Music Library operational hours. Hours, directions, and parking information can be found in the Music Library. 

For a complete listing of events plus more, please visit our facebook page.

For donations, questions about the gallery or for those interested in showing works in The little Gallery Underground, please contact Karen Snively at 540.568.6041 or via email at library-music@jmu.edu.

This gallery would not exist without the vision and encouragement of Brian Cockburn and Karen Snively. Also, a big thank you to Corinne Diop, Gary Freeburg, Kate Stevens, Melanie Brimhall, and Katherine Schwartz in the School of Art, Art History and Design, as well as Jeff Bush in the School of Music for their expert guidance, assistance, and support. 

Friday, September 18th, 4:00-6:00pm

An opportunity to slow down, appreciate the artistry of the handwritten letter, and rediscover the enduring beauty of writing by Professor Zenab Bastawala. Like music, calligraphy transcends language, inviting us to experience the universal rhythm and harmony expressed through the movement of the pen.

Artist: Zenab Bastawala

"Experiencing Analysis: New Perspectives"

Artist(s): Students in Dr. Judith Ofcarcik's Graduate Music Theory Seminar

September 12, 2025

This exhibit showcased the work of students in Dr. Judith Ofcarcik's graduate music theory seminar. Each project analyzed a piece of music in a new and creative way, from an interactive video to a multi-course meal. The projects were a response to the math- and science-focused visualizations traditionally used in the field, seeking to engage both musicians and music lovers more deeply with the analyses and the music that inspired them. 

"Symphony of Abstraction"

Artist: Myer Y. Kim

April 11, 2025

"Symphony of Abstraction" featured artworks by JMU student Myer Y. Kim that illustrate the complexity, tension, and beauty of music and how the notation of a music composition can be used to create unique artistic and design forms.

There is an inherent beauty and structure in music that allows music to have harmonious, rich sounds affecting the mood and psyche of a person. Music composition utilizes a series of theories and techniques to write music that is similar to how an artist utilizes artistic techniques and methods to create an art piece.

"Discord & Harmony"

Artists: Student member of the Gamma Kappa chapter of the co-ed International Honorary Art Fraternity, Kappi Pi: Kate Funk, Juan Alvarez, Ollie Adams, Chloe Cameron, Samantha Derrico, Daniel Judy, Molly O'Donnell, Rachel Mitchem, Penny Naden, & Allison Shockley

November 8, 2024

This exhibit explored the ways that music inspires the students' art and how they harmoniously bring it together. Both performing arts and visual arts are meant to bring us together and capture the dissonance we may experience in our lives. Together in "Discord & Harmony," these students created artwork to celebrate what has inspired them—and they put forth inspiration for others.

The students that put on the exhibit are members of the Gamma Kappa chapter of the co-ed International Honorary Art Fraternity, Kappa Pi. As a diverse community of creatives, they make all kinds of art from film and journalism to architecture and painting and everything in between.

"Graphic Scores" & "Beyond the Fourth Wall"

Artists: Karis Buchanan, Casey Cangelosi, Eric Guinivan, & Judith Ofcarcik

September 21, 2024

"Graphic Scores:" A collection of scores that are visually and aurally stimulating. The authors of the scores were JMU Music Faculty members Casey Cangelosi, Dr. Eric Guinivan, & Dr. Judith Ofcarcik. This exhibit also included audio and an interactive piece.

"Beyond the Fourth Wall:" 'Beyond the Fourth Wall' was an exhibit featuring the artwork of Karis Buchanan, in partial fulfillment of the Bachelor of Arts degree, with a concentration in music studies. The exhibit focused on applying the theatrical concept of the fourth wall to instrumental music performances. The art pieces explore how the relationship between audience and performer is affected by the fourth wall, as well as whether or not the fourth wall can ever truly be broken in an instrumental performance.

"Sound of Lens: A Photographic Symphony"

Artists: Students of Yulin Yuan in ART 360

March 22, 2024

In this exhibit, in which photography becomes a melodious journey, exploring the various cadences, textures, and emotions buried in each shot, which orchestrate a symphony of visual narrative. Each image represented a note in a visual composition that crossed the line between sight and sound.

"Anti-Colonial Music Analysis"

Artists: Anthony Cincotta, Steffi Tetzloff, Rose Guo, Daisey Kludt, Gregorio Paone, Aphrodite Mitsopoulou, Tanya Corcuera, Kim Souther, Thomas O'Keefe, Addie Walton, Sasha Velgosha, Megan Zuhowski, Esther Nyberg, Wei Mo, Niko Myrogiannis-Koukos, & Dr. Judith Ofcarcik

September 8, 2023

This exhibit was a culmination of projects produced as part of the doctoral theory seminar in Spring 2023. Students first studied connections between the traditional ways of visually representing musical form and the overtly colonial practice of cartography. They explored how mapmaking was (and is) used to categorize and control both land and people and reflected on the impact of using a similar visual language to describe music. This inspired the students to envision other ways of analyzing and depicting form, privileging collaboration, movement, and visual impact. The students chose to analyze music by First Nations, Inuit, and Métis musicians from Canada in their final projects to amplify those voices.

"Mutant Symphonies"

November 5, 2021

Artists: Judith Gudial, Griffen Barbeau, Samantha O'Fallon, Brooke Sylvester, Tessa Kersh, Halle Crampton, Lauren Zheng, Lily Romero, Bess Fields, Evan Smith, Cathryn Tateosian, Lindsey Kohler-Austin, Casey Smith, Kameron Franks, Manuel Villar May, Megan Hinkel

This art exhibit featured drawings by JMU students studying with Mallory Burrell. This collection of drawings was inspired by a range of musical instruments and created using a surrealist drawing technique called Cadavre Exquis, or Exquisite Corpse drawing. Student artists drew on sections of a piece of paper and folded each section under before passing the drawing to the next artist. Using this technique, the artists found inventive ways to create drawings of new musical objects.

MRD performance & Grand Illumination Ceremony

October 1, 2021

"Playlist: Wavelength" - Online Exhibit

April 2, 2021

Artists: Students in Drawing 104: Alexandra Barrick, Sarah Bell, Katie Campbell, Hadley Cowan, Anna Lee, David Mai, Hannah Montero, Abby Parades, Alan Peterson, Kaitlyn Petrie, Aiden Porter, Donald Rice, Lily Seely, Bee Swatosh, Rachel Vellutato, Delaney Willis, Devon Woodson, Mikey Zagalak

Lyrics of the illustrated form and music is the abstract force.

Musicians, artists, and the unconscious compulsion to draw what we hear.

Experimental lines and paths to create the playlist, the wavelength.

Taking music as inspiration, a Drawing 104 class created 18 unique works for this exhibit. Mining through music of popular culture, as well as sourcing inspiration from music of generations past, the works in this exhibit explored a wide array of themes such as childhood nostalgia, music as an abstract force, music in the community, controversy within the music industry, and many more. This exhibit ultimately displayed the intricate connections humans have with music and musicians, and how those relationships trickle into the pores of our human existence.

"SINGULARITY: A DENSE SOUL" - Online Exhibit

February 5, 2021

Artist: Derrick Chirinos

The human body is something we know exists. We can see it, we can feel lit, and in a literal sense, we are wearing it. It reacts to touch, pain, and most importantly, music. We've developed dances as a reaction to how certain sounds make us feel. It is this experience that gives us more proof that the body is real and we are existing. But what makes us different than our animal counterparts? The existence of a soul. A personality. A spirtual flame that goes out when our body gives out. It is no doubt that music does more than make our body move, it can also make us feel more whole. This feeling varies as we can also clash with certain musical energies, but the interaction is there. It exists like the body exists. 

This series explored that existence through multi-layered double exposures and designs created while listening to songs and sounds that impacted the artist the most.

"Visual Noise" - Online Exhibit

August 7, 2020

Artist: Zach Sensabaugh

"Visual Noise" was a photography project expressing the "noise" of commerical and urban environments. The photographs were meant to present the density of stimuli of peopled places in a way that would be found if dropped into the scene for an instant without a chance to mentally sort depth and separation between the individual elements. To take these photos, the artist sought to place themselves into a mental space where they would take these photographs more by instinct than though. Subconsciously composing and snapping the shutter before they had a chance to think the image through.

"Shin'ichi Suzuki" - Online Exhibit

May 1, 2020

Artist: Shin'ichi Suzuki from the Dr. Marianne Perkins Memorial String Pedagogy Collection

Shin'ichi Suzuki was a violinst, educator, philosopher, and humanitarian. He founded the Suzuki Method of music teaching. Pieces in this exhibit were from the Dr. Marianne Perkins Memorial String Pedagogy Collection and included three watercolor images on silk painting and calligraphy by Shin'ichi Suzuki.

First Fridays Downtown Event: Art by Greg Versen; music by David Pope

February 7, 2020

Artists: Greg Versen & David Pope

This exhibit featured "Music faces, places, and styles" by Greg Versen, a.k.a. "Professah Blues," and a music performance by JMU Saxophone Professor, David Pope. In his award-winning photographs, Versen captured the faces and the spirit of mostly blues musicians including BB King as well as a few street musicians.

In addition to being an accomplished classical and jazz saxophonist, David Pope has enjoyed an enduring relationship with wood flutes and non-western instruments. Pope presented an informal concert of meditative music for folk flutes, duduk, and small percussion instruments. 

"Music to my Eyes"

December 6, 2019

Artists: JMU Art Students: Cheyenne Granahan, Brooklyn Knick, Schuyler Lear, Taylor Feaganes, Clara Swartz, Connor Dulevitz, Jessie Gay, Haley Gillespie, Sarah El-Gafy, Deanna Meade, Anna Leone, Kayla Johnson, Julia McGee, Glendy Roca, Jaden Godfrey, Kate Woodington, Cayleigh Greenfield, Anna Stegmeier

"Music to my Eyes" featured drawings inspired by music and created by JMU Art Students of Mallory Burrell. The art included a mix of graphite, charcoal, and ink drawings on paper.

First Fridays Downtown Event: Multimedia Art & Music Performance in the Music Library

October 4, 2019

Artists: Brent Funkhouser, Xue'er Gao, Trudy Cole, Bob Driver, & Greg Versen

Singer/songwriter Brent Funkhouser performed music incorporating different aspects of folk, country, and rock music in his own distinct style.

Visual Artist, Xue'er Gao, displayed mixed media works that have a connection to music. "One's life is short; however, she is correlating illustrations, printmaking, and sculpture to recreate the memories, see and feel. Sharing with you, her different world and story.

Trudy Cole, Associate Director of JMU's School of Arts, Design, & History and Professor of Graphic Design, displayed her graphic design cover art for several CD albums. These included CDs that featured her husband, and musician, Bob Driver. Also displayed was a photograph of Driver performing, taken by photographer, Greg Versen.

"Why You Change Chord"

September 6, 2019

Artist: Xue'er Gao

This exhibit featured mixed media works that also have a connection to music. "One's life is short; however, she is correlating illustrations, printmaking, and sculpture to recreate the memories, see and feel. Sharing with you, her different world and story.

"Playlist 360"

February 1, 2019

Artists: Carrie Chang, Katelyn Coker, Nikki Davlantes, Bailey George, Rebecca Hobbs, Carley Holloway, Rachel Jordan, Cannan Keller, Monte Powell, Heather Swing, Megan Tabelon, and Samantha Zakrzewski. 

Students from Corinne Diop's ART 360 Digital Photography class each chose a song to visually interpret in a 12x12 inch photograph.

Kids Art: "Musical interpretations"

November 2, 2018

Artists: Students of Zach Dishman at John Wayland Elementary School

In this exhibit, students from John Wayland Elementary School in Bridgewater, Virginia, explored the relationship between music and art as they created composition depicting music through various mediums. This collection represented students' original interpretations of music.

"Collaborations: Visualizing Musical Interpretation"

September 7, 2018

Artists: Students of Rob Mertens & John Peterson: Jocelyn Abrahamzon, Vilma Castro, Gregory Childress, Christian Davis, Ryan Doherty, Nat Duong, Kyrin Jones, Brian Junttila, Noah Karkenny, Tony Moran, Brianna Preputnik, Josephine Smith, Rebecca Walker, Nick Warmuth, Sage Wright, & Jackie Zerull

In the Spring of 2018, a Woven Structures Advanced Fiber Arts course collaborated with a Public Music Theory undergraduate seminar to produce a series of artworks meant to represent interpretations of music. Music students and art students met in small groups to discuss selected music pieces or popular songs. The art students used the information generated from the discussions to create a woven structure, and the music students created blogs and program notes to display their interpretations. The result was very much a combination of an "artifact" from the process as well as the interpretation of complex musical literacy.

"Inspired Collaboration"

April 6, 2018

Artists: Members of the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community

"Inspired Collaboration" was an exhibit of artworks created by residents of the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community in collaborative art classes led by JMU School of Art, Design, & Art History art education students. "How music impacts my life" was the theme explored by the artists.

"Colors of the Show"

February 2, 2018

Artist: Lacey Vilandry

"I have been a live painter for four years now, painting at various shows and music festivals across the United States. Music has always been one of my biggest inspirations for creation. Because of my experiences of painting at shows, I have heard many tales of joy and woe. Much like music, visual art speaks to the soul, and when they're put together, you create a unique multi-sensory experience that sends people's minds into the clouds while keeping their feet dancing around." - Artist Lacey Vilandry

"Kaleidoscope Project: A New Perspective on Synesthesia"

November 3, 2017

Project Heads: Vinny Okechukwu & Annie Franks

The Kaleidoscope Project's goal was to create a portal through the eyes of people who have synesthesia. The project was a collaboration of a team of musicians and multi-media visual artists who took accounts and interviews of people with synesthesia, sought to understand their cognitive experience through interview, and exposed a different perspective to experiencing music. 

"Traces and Detritus: Visual Echoes"

September 1, 2017

Artist: Rob Mertens

"If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration." — Nikola Tesla

"In much of my research I have been drawn to moments before science is fully understood and I enjoy speculating what the thoughts may have been during this time. One such example looks to Ernst Chladni the father of acoustics. Chladni is the inventer of what was later defined as “Cymatics”.1. in the 18th century, Chladni investigated a series of visual patterns generated from sound vibrations through a material. This highly dramatic emergence of complex geometric patterns on simple materials sparked generations of acousticians in the field. During this time, science and scientists were seen as what we might call celebrities and toured their experiments for the general public. 

Imagine what the first thoughts of these symbols could have been? Harmonics from God? Secret messages found in vibrating materials? Quickly, analytical physics helped to describe what was happening in these materials to cause the vibrational patterns but there must have existed a time between observation and comprehension. This is the space I find the most compelling and my curiosity is fed by making work that situates itself there. 

Within These emerging technologies. 

Additionally, I am interested in the space around a technologies lifespan and when a society leaves behind a technological advancement. The work often addresses media excess, technological conquest and subsequent archival abandonment. It is my personal belief that we are existing within a culture of overabundance due to constant progression, and it is important to look to the media scrap pile as an anthropological source. Traces of histories are quickly being left behind on old hard drives, lost broadcast waves and miles of magnetic tape. Each material contains the potential of personal stories, scientific research, news broadcasts and countless other narratives. This detritus symbolizes the mystery and revelation possible in objects." Artist Robert Mertens

Watercolors by Shin'ichi Suzuki

July 6, 2017

Shin'ichi Suzuki was a violinist, educator, and humanitarian. Founder of the Suzuki Method of music teaching. These art pieces were donated and were part of the "Dr. Marianne Perkins Memorial String Pedagogy Collection."

"Graphic Score Collaboration"

March 22, 2017

Artists: Students in Art Professor Carissa Henrique's GRPH 306 class and Music Professor Casey Cangelosi's MUAP 354 class

This exhibit was the work of 18 graphic design students in Professor Carissa Henrique's GRPH 306 Intermediate Typography class from fall 2016. Students visualized their impressions of a sonic experiences (for example, sitting on the quad on a sunny afternoon). These sounds were expressed in the form of a visual composition, inspired by graphic scoring. These works were used in collaboration with JMU Percussion Professor Casey Cangelosi's MUAP 354 Percussion Ensemble course. Undergraduate, Master's, and Doctoral students performed and composed the scores. The works were performed in the Percussion Ensemble showcase in January 2017.

"LET Talent"

January 20, 2017

Artists: Jenne Klotz, Serafina Swanlund, Julia Merkel, Lynne Moir, John Hazelwood, and Madison Whitesell

The pieces in this exhibit featured talent from Libraries & Educational Technologies (LET). LET includes all departments within Rose Library, Carrier Library, & the Music Library.

Each of the pieces in the exhibit had some connection to music.

"2016 in Rock-n-Roll"

October 14, 2016

Artist: Bob Adamek

"During 2016, I have photographed around 250 sets of music so far, including 11 music festivals stretching from New Orleans to New Jersey, and numerous individual concerts. The work represented here is a collection of some of my favorites from this year!" - Photographer Bob Adamek

"Timbre"

August 29, 2016

Prints were part of the JMU School of Music Bands Collection, collected and presented by Scott Rikkers & Karen Snively. Photographers include Bob Adamek, Chase Maszle, and Maria Pope. Prints transferred to Canvas by EZCanvas.

"Scene MACRoCK"

March 16, 2016

Artists: Brian Hamelman, Ross Figlerski, & Bob Adamek

"The sense of community and collaboration generated from the music scene in this town was, and is, tangible. Whether it was The Bag, Crayola, The Nile, Clementine, or MACRoCK, the bands were good, the room was sweaty, and the floor was sticky. The focus of this collection is 2015's MACRoCK, a defining annual event in which the town surrenders itself willingly to a festival celebrating an unapologetically loud and creative subculture." - Brian Hamelman

"Blues: music you feel and hear"

January 29, 2016

Artist: Greg Versen

Artist Greg Versen has had a life-long interest in music despite the discovery during third grade piano lessons that he had no musical talent. Blues and rhythm and blues music he grew up listening to on records and WLAC radio, Nashville, Tennessee, which broadcast that style music late at night, shaped his musical tastes. Versen created and has hosted Blues Valley as "Professah Blues" on WMRA since 1985. 

Versen is an award winning photographer and has been an active photographer for more than 40 years. He has attended workshops at the Maine Photographic Workshop, Rockport, and the Rocky Mountain School of Photography, Missoula, Montana. In 2003 he switched from film to digital photography. His preference is for black and white photography, while recognizing that some images cry out for color. He does most of his own printing and framing. He shoots with Nikon cameras and prints with a Canon Pixma 9500 with archival inks.  

"The Photographers Interpretation"

October 23, 2015

Artists: Photography students of Tara Ott from the JMU School of Art, Design, and Art History.

The photographs in this exhibit were created in a digital photography class in which the class was given the theme "music." The students all come from different backgrounds, ages, and departments, so they each had their own unique view of the topic.

"Music Without Sound"

September 4, 2015

Artists: Corinne Diop (Professor of Photography & Photography Area Head), Rob Mertens (Assistant Professor of Fibers & Fibers Area Head), Rebecca Silberman (Associate Professor of Photography & New Image Gallery Director), Greg Stewart (Associate Professor of Sculpture & Sculpture Area Head), & Ken Szmagaj (Professor of Painting & Painting Area Head)

This exhibit featured music-inspired work by five Studio Artists from the JMU School of Art, Design, & Art History.

This project was made possible in part by an Innovative Initiative Grant from the JMU Libraries & Educational Technologies endowment. Many thanks to alumni/ae and friends for their financial support. 

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