Brian McCormack

Brian was born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania but has spent most of his life in New Jersey. He grew up in the wilds of West Milford Township and upon reaching his 18th birthday moved to Montclair NJ. It was while living there he attended N.S.F.I.A. in 1971 to 1974 (Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art) and Montclair State College in the mid 70’s. It was in Montclair that he started to exhibit his work, in banks, colleges and some galleries. Throughout the years and into the 21st. century he exhibited in NYC and the tristate area in many 1 person and group exhibits. Brian currently lives with his wife Joan in Bound Brook NJ. Brian is currently employed as a graphic artist and webmaster to support his family and artistic endeavors. 

Brian McCormack likes to incorporate humour and social awareness into his work. Inspired by composer Harry Partch – these guitars are all functional, he hand crafts parts of the guitars such as the neck, body, and pickup as to develop an original concept for each piece. His work brings art and music together in one piece.

I begin the artistic process of creating my guitars by first addressing the technical issues. If the guitar is unplayable I have to explore the problems and correct them as much

as possible so to make it a tunable and functioning instrument. Sometimes the body of an acoustic guitar, for example, is out of level and throwing off the tuning which I correct. I hand-craft parts like necks, bodies, and pickups as much as possible because I want to develop an original concept for each piece. I also like to add interesting materials that are uncharacteristic of traditional guitar making.I have been influenced by musicians and visual artists alike, including Hary Partch who specialized in

experimental music, and kinetic sculptors Alexander Calder, and Jean Tinguely. Like these artistsI try to incorporate humor and social awareness into the development

of my work. Brian’s guitars have been shown in museums and galleries, and his work is in private collections throughout the country.