IMAGE/WORD: Fusion of Poetry and Art
Date: Fri, February 6th 2009Additional Time Info: 7:30 p.m.
Event Tags: Art Shows
Location: Space 88
MIXED-MEDIA Exhibit:
IMAGE/WORD: Fusion of Poetry and Art
Dates: 1/09/09 – 3/06/09
Event dates:
Opening Reception: 1/09 from 7:30-9:30 pm
Poetry Reading: 2/06 at 7:30 pm
Closing Reception: 3/06: 7:30-9:30 pm (interactive, participatory experience, lead by Anne Dykers)
“Image is what we begin with”—Merrill Leffler
This quote aptly describes the genesis of the mixed media pieces in the exhibition, “IMAGE/WORD: Fusion of Poetry and Art,” co-curated by David Fogel and Anne Becker, poet laureate of Takoma Park, MD, opening on Friday, January 9, 2009 at Space 88 (www.space-88.com) in Silver Spring, MD.
Seven pairs of visual artists and poets were each challenged to collaborate on a single work around the theme of “creation.” These included the following:
Sally Brucker & Ann Slayton
Bonnie Lee Holland & Anne Becker
James Landry & Greta Ehrig
Margot Neuhaus & Anne Dykers
Stephanie Sove Ney & Carol Beane
Howard Spector & Merrill Leffler
Eric Wolinsky & Sydney March
The results serve to liberate the poets’ words from the bounds of the page. They allow color, line, texture, and form to gain speech. Some pieces are three dimensional—incorporating fabric, stone, mud, and two thousand plastic eggs—while others include audio components. ( MP3 players will be available so attendees may hear the poems.)
Each pair arrived at their own method of fusion. Poet Greta Ehrig characterized the process she and James Landry settled into as “a long ‘ping-pong volley’ style, where we passed our words and ideas back and forth over time.” Poet Anne Dykers and her partner, Margot Neuhaus described their way of working as “listening with silence until images emerged.” “Devolution #1” by artist Howard Spector, and Merrill Leffler grew out of their shared interest in abstraction. “Capturing Thelonious Monk has no straightforward path. Here, music twines with word twines with image,” artist Eric Wolinsky explains his visual rendering of Sydney March’s poem “Monk’s Misterioso.”
Process and change, as the theme suggests, are fundamental to this exhibit, which was originally installed in the Atrium Gallery of the Takoma Park Community Center. Over a two-month period, collaborative and participatory events were staged in the Gallery where poets, musicians, and dancers could interact with the artwork. This activity deepened both the artists’ and the audiences’ understanding of the pieces. And, in turn, triggered a reworking, resulting in an evolution of the show.
Collaborations will continue at the opening reception on January 9th, 2009 with James Landry and Sydney March performing live music created especially for this event. On February 6th, the poets will present a reading, and at the closing reception, March 6th, Anne Dykers will lead an interactive, participatory experience.
