I was honored to have my poem selected recently as part of an outdoor art installation entitled “Of Earth and Sky.” It’s currently on display outdoors in Charlotte, NC. The art project used parts of each poet’s poem in the art. My part of my poem is at Marshall park in downtown. It’s white letters on stakes. Another piece of a poem by another poet is nearby and it’s painted in the grass. This park is idyllic with it’s reflecting pools, fountain, and curvy walkways amongst the trees. It’s quite busy. The day I was there, a model was being photographed, a wedding party arrived in a stretch limo, and there was a group having a picnic. Plus, there were people exercising and/or walking their dogs. It’s a popular place!
How different it is to see your words larger than life and outside in a park! It completely changes one’s perspective on reading and/or viewing the poem. It’s one thing to read a poem in a book, online or on paper. It’s quite another to see it on display like an advertisement billboard.
My favorite poet Ted Kooser participated in an E-book of pictures of an artist with Kooser writing poems to go with. It was really quite inventive. At the end of the book Mr. Kooser and the artist had videos explaining their creative processes.
All the arts, in my opinion, go together and complement each other. I know I learned a great deal about writing dialogue in grad school for Theatre/Communications/Speech.
A few years ago, I also participated in an art showing of paintings and photos with poems to go with. That was an interesting experience for me to write a poem to go along with the art. At my local Arts Council, an exhibit just finished and some of the photos used words as part of the art if not the entire piece.
I love to read words and learn new words! To me, words are Art. What kind of art will you create today?
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