The last post had me searching through Lloyd’s archives at some pretty old stuff. I came across an assignment from my 10th grade humanities class. Mr. Cottrell (who is on the list of people who influenced me. He’s awesome) had us look at various styles of art… Surrealism, Dada, Futuristic.. and write poems inspired by several pieces. I definitely had a specific poetry style (or lack thereof?), but it’s fun to go back and read them. Below, I’ve compiled some of the art and the corresponding poems. Some also include reflections/explanations.
Picasso’s Three Women
Seeing the heavens
Boxes and shapes
All distort
Defining themselves
In the fires
…
Cut like rubies
Turn blind to that
If it burns
They wring their souls
Envious of emeralds
Smothered in sin
…
Their naked selves
Precious as gems
Screeching hymns
In the dark cave
Eyes closed to the fire
…
Marc Chagall’s The Falling Angel and The Pregnant Woman (Mary)
Remembering a time
Of music and ghostly beasts
Where light disappears
And faith dwindles
…
Flapping wings fail when
Innocence protects sin
Rather than expose it
And hope is unsuccessful
…
Madonna holds her
Fallen angel, but wings
Repair and beat and rise
And she remembers when
…
Messengers bring news
That sends the flocks
Into the heavens
And draws hungry eyes
…
Nestled in orchid beds
Sleeps a possibility
What hole is born by fear
Is filled by faith
…
Hole-y conception
Bears shining fruit
That transcends color
Species and race
…
Paul Klee
Fireworks, flowers, fruit
Explosions of color are
Too cliché, simplistic
It is more complicated
…
Craving comfort and warmth
Amid confusion and pain
She falters upon mistakes
In her careless haste
…
Smorgasbord of emotion
Indistinguishable in pink
Mistaking lust for love
Mistaking stumbling for
…
Falling
…
Towards the definition and color
And squirm away from that
Hidden behind closing curtains
A different kind of stage
…
Fluid limbs wade and twist
In blood and raw emotions
Poker face hides any and all
Weakness in blank stares
…
Disappearing details define
What a picture cannot
All felt and experienced
Is inexpressible in words
…
Or paint
Initially, none of Paul Klee’s pieces struck me, but the third piece made me think, especially with Mr. Cottrell’s question of whether or not the subject was moving towards or away from the viewer. When I started to write though, everything I produced implied hints of sexuality, so rather than resist it, I embraced the concept. I feel the free verse method and vivid visuals accurately mimic the modernist style. Overall, I probably spent the most time on this piece, rearranging stanzas and lines to convey my message in the classiest way possible; it’s my favorite.
…
Hannah Hoch’s Grotesque
Bubble gumball Cosmo
Hepburn lips and cashmere legs
Cut and paste perfection for
Barbie doll disco
…
Einstein crimson hangover
Bushy brow alfalfa scalp and
Chicken knobby knees bring
Death to sunshine
This piece draws its contents from specific details from Hannah Hoch’s Grotesque. I noted the stark contrast in the two subjects of her piece. In addition, I tried to portray the collage style of the picture through the arrangement and diction of my words. I really like the style of Dada; I feel it is a refreshing contrast to the other styles of the era. Furthermore, the use of actual pictures from magazines and photographs makes the pieces more realistic and easier to interpret and relate to.
