Friday, February 24, 2023

Poetry Sisters Write Ekphrastic Poems

One thing we can count on as we make our annual poetry plans is that ekphrastic poems will be in the mix. We usually share photos with one another and often will write to a photo that is not our own. Since our theme for the year is transformation, I posted photos related to an exhibit at the Montclair Art Museum entitled Transformed: Objects Reimagined by American Artists. I've seen this exhibit twice now and am endlessly fascinated by it. Here is the plaque that describes it.


I love that it was inspired by this note Jasper Johns wrote in his sketchbook in 1964.
Take an object
Do something to it 
Do something else to it

The inspiration for my poem is a piece from this exhibit entitled Conversation, created by Marie Watt, a contemporary artist enrolled in the Seneca Nation of Indians. This work is made from reclaimed wool blankets, satin binding, and thread.

There is so much I love about this piece, but the mathematics of the shape has captured my attention. Here's my poem.

Möbius Magic
  impossible shape
  two sides, two edges -- transformed
  this infinite curl
  one surface, no boundaries
  where math and art collide

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2023. All rights reserved.

You can read the pieces written by my Poetry Sisters at the links below. 

    Would you like to try the next challenge? Next month the form we are tackling is the etheree. This is a ten-line form that begins with a one-syllable word and grows by one syllable each line until you arrive at line ten (which has ten syllables). You can learn more about this form at Poetry Magnum Opus. We are still working on the theme of transformation. We hope you'll join us. Are you in? Good! You’ve got a month to craft your creation(s), then share your offering with the rest of us on March 31st in a post and/or on social media with the tag #PoetryPals. We look forward to reading your poems!  

    I hope you'll take some time to check out all the wonderful poetic things being shared and collected today by Tabatha Yeatts at The Opposite of Indifference. Happy poetry Friday, friends!

    13 comments:

    1. Quilting, as I am learning, is DEFINITELY "where math and art collide." What a gorgeous piece of fiber art. History and culture are circling there, along with the past and present.

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    2. Where math and art collide!! Gosh this is gorgeous and fits with the image so perfectly. (Also, I loved that Jasper Johns quote, too. I saw his retrospective at the Whitney last year and haven't stopped thinking of his bottomless -- relentless, almost -- making.)

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    3. Before reading your poem, Tricia, I saw the quilt as a collection of book spines. :-) Of course, I love your take on this "impossible shape," "where math and art collide"!

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    4. Oh, that collision and curl. The brevity of this poem makes it even more powerful. Like Marti, I saw book spines :>)

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    5. I like that Jasper Johns quote, too. "Conversation" is such a great name for Marie Watts' quilt. No boundaries between the historical fabrics, the artist, you and your vision, and us.

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    6. I can see the influence of Jasper Johns in this piece, even as the artist makes it her own. "one surface no boundaries" YES

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    7. Despite this not being books, I still want to see them that way - an endless curl of books, where art and math collide... Definitely the quote makes the whole project -- do something, then do something else, and then you have... art. I love it.

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    8. Tricia, Jasper Johns quote links art with the theme of transformation and to your poem. "where math and art collide"-fabulous ending!

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    9. Wonderful! The math and the art really do collide. Beautiful.

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    10. Tricia, I love the collision, and I, too, am fascinated by this artwork. Your poem is fun and a lovely honoring of this complex beauty.

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    11. It's always an inspiration to experience what artists do, however the transformation or the creative us of materials. This is spectacular, Tricia, and the math connection, "no boundaries" - intriguing. I'm glad you shared!

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    12. What a perfect image for a "conversation" - where open minds and hearts might continue to mine the depth and breadth of thought.

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    13. You made me look more closely and deeply at the image and wow — yes to "where math and art collide."

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