Spring is like
…a perhaps hand
(which comes carefully
out of Nowhere) arranging
a window, into which people look (while
people stare
arranging and changing placing
carefully there a strange
thing and a known thing here) and
changing everything carefully
spring is like a perhaps
Hand in a window
(carefully to
and fro moving New and
Old things, while
people stare carefully
moving a perhaps
fraction of flower here placing
an inch of air there) and
without breaking anything.
–e.e. Cummings
My collage was not only inspired by the e.e. cummings poem, but very directly by the work of Miriam Schapiro. Her work pictured above, St. Marks (16 Frames), provided the grid variation that I used as a ground. Schapiro, a pioneer associated along with Judy Chicago in the Feminist Art Movement, was also linked to the Pattern and Decoration Movement. She not only incorporated the work of other female artists directly into a dialogue with her work, but she championed the use of textiles and other symbols associated with women and the work of anonymous women artists too often dismissed as merely “craft”.
Windows often provided structure to her thought, and she used the window and frame in many of her artistic explorations, including her “Shrines” series. A window encompasses both an opening and a boundary, a mediation between inside and outside. It is a good symbol to use when considering the way we interact with ourselves and our relationship to the world.
e.e. cummings is a poet we study in high school in a way that narrows his work to a gimmick. Recently, I seem to find his poetry everywhere I look, speaking to me in a different and more complete voice.
Read more about Miriam Schapiro here.
and e.e. cummings here.
8 responses to “Spring is like”
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- June 7, 2016 -
Your work, in my opinion, belongs in a museum. It is that special, and beautiful to me. What a wonderful amalgam this is of your inspiration in artwork and poetry. And it feels even more timely in light of what’s going on in Baltimore now: a reaching out, a renewal of hope and help, often coming from sources we least expect. Thanks for sharing your beautiful collages; they are so special, and just keep getting better!!
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Your comments always brighten my day! Yes, I don’t quite know how to respond to Baltimore, but hope seems better than despair.
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No doubt. Keep rocking it. I love your work! I hope you’re having fun. It sure looks like it!
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It’s been a struggle lately, but I’m enjoying it nonetheless.
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This really is spectacular. It is museum quality and I am extremely impressed by this work. Beautiful post.
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Great post! Love your work and all the references. Very inspirational!
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Thanks! I always like to give credit to my inspirations.
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