Art on Piano™

“Complementary Skills”: Art by Seiko Tachibana | Words by Karen Earle Lile

“Complementary Skills” was commissioned to be evocative of the inter-connectivity of the skills of artisans, artists and musicians.   It was intended to inspire inclusion of all who create, preserve, add to, restore, transport and record works of the hands that last through generations.  It recognizes how each skill complements the other.  It captures the essence of the moments in time, during which the skills of many people create living art, music and dance bringing meaningful experience to those who listen, look and participate in a piece of music, a work of art, a building or a combination of all three simultaneously.” ~ Karen Earle Lile

April 16, 2022 Treasure Island World’s Fair Anniversary Celebrations 1939-2022

The original art design is created on paper or canvas by an artist first. Then a customized Piano Art Decal is made from a digitized master for installation on one specific piano. Each Piano Art Decal installed on a piano, has a unique number assigned to it by this registry. Each piano has a unique serial number assigned to it by the manufacturer at the time it was new.

Pianos included in this registry can be by any manufacturer and might be new, used or rebuilt. Art commissioned can by any artist. The founding art series titled “Complementary Skills” is by fine artist Seiko Tachibana with Karen Earle Lile as Art Director.

To continue as part of this project, a piano owner keeps written records in a book near the piano, with the Complementary Skills 1A original art design embossed on the title page by the Art on Piano™ Registry. The book is a living chronicle of the piano’s continuing history, including the contributions that have been made by artisans, artists, musicians and other people with complimentary skills over the years.

Seiko tachibana | artist

SEIKO TACHIBANA was born in Japan and completed her Masters of Art Education at Kobe University, Japan. She received an MFA from San Francisco Art Institute, and has since received many awards including Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation Award. She has been living and working in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her distinctive work balances Asian tradition with minimalist modernity. Tachibana’s work has shown internationally also can be found in the Los Angeles County Museum, Fine Art Museums of San Francisco the Legion of the Honor, Portland Art Museum as well as a number of other museums, institutios and individual collections throughout USA, Europe and Japan.

KAREN EARLE LILE | art director | writer

KAREN EARLE LILE was born in San Francisco and completed her Bachelor’s of Art Degree at the University of Texas at Austin, with studies at the University of California at Berkeley. She received special honors in English. Lile’s poetry has been published in national anthologies and her journalism contributions have been international. She is the Art Director for the USPS Building Bridges Special Postal Cancelation Series (since 1996). She was commissioned by the Oakland Symphony to write the libretto for a symphonic/choral work titled, “Break Free on Wings of Music” that has also been arranged in the styles of swing and tango. She is the author of the concepts of Art on Piano™ and the concept/words for Complementary Skills

KENDALL ROSS BEAN | piano rebuilder | Composer | Pianist

KENDALL ROSS BEAN was born in Oakland and completed his Master of Music Degree in Piano Performance at University of Texas at Austin, his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Piano Performance at Brigham Young University with studies at University of California at Berkeley. Bean is a member of the Preservation Artisan’s Guild with over 40 years of experience rebuilding pianos for the company he co-founded with Karen Lile, Piano Finders. He has inspected and documented the designs and condition of over 3,400 pianos and taken more than 20,000 photographs of his rebuilding work and the work of other artisans, including the hidden signatures that remain from the craftsman that are no longer living. He is also a composer, concert pianist and historian, which adds rich dimensions to his approach to everything to do with the piano.