skip to main | skip to sidebar

The Virtual World

Poetry, the imagination, and the creative life.

Friday, July 09, 2010

Where Paint and Poetry Meet


This is a fascinating article. I love how the painting was created in reference to a poem, rather then the reverse. What do you call the inverse of Ekphrastic? Is there a name fore it?

Charles Demuth's 'The Figure 5 in Gold' is a witty homage to William Carlos Williams and one of his poems.

On its own, this visual impact might have made Charles Demuth's most famous work into an icon of American art. But "The Figure 5 in Gold" has much more going for it. It's the best work in a genre Demuth created, the "poster portrait." It's a witty homage to his close friend, the poet William Carlos Williams, and a transliteration into paint of his poem, "The Great Figure." It's a decidedly American work made at a time when U.S. artists were just moving beyond European influences. It's a reference to the intertwined relationships among the arts in the 1920s, a moment of cross-pollination that led to American Modernism. And it anticipates Pop art.
Posted by Peter at 9:24 PM
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

1 comment:

Susan Rich said...

Thank you. Love this!

July 10, 2010 4:02 PM

Post a Comment

Newer Post Older Post Home
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • Prufrock: a decompostition
    you and I spread out against the sky half-deserted shells What is it? our visit. a talking angel yellow fog there will be time to prepare a ...
  • Poetry on NPR
    This morning there was an interesting story about Poetry magazine and its Ruth Lily endowment, on NPR's Weekend edition. One of the iss...
  • Question of the Week(end)
    If you were a gay man, would you wear capri pants? Please choose one: A: Definitely yes! They are the latest fashion statement. B: Maybe: it...
  • (no title)
    Fun "Mad Libs" poem from Ben Lerner, up at he PoFo website: Share on facebook   Share on twitter   Share on tumblr   Share on...
  • Genesis/Gin Sees
    More fun with anagrams: Genesis Gin Sees In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. In the benign gin, God the servant threate...
  • (no title)
    I love to eat cashews. This morning I found one shaped exactly like a high-heeled shoe. (A ca-shoe?) It's not quite like seeing the Virg...
  • Is Your Husband Gay? Here's the Test:
    This was just too funny for me, as my husband (at least the last time I checked) is TOTALLY gay. At least he *better* be! "In her book...
  • What the Skin Cutter Feels
    And now for something a little more serious . . . Some people, because of past trauma or abuse, turn to cutting on themselves. The wounds...
  • Hiccups
    Dean's food was so rich last night that he got a really bad case of the hiccups, and they wouldn't go away for almost two hours. Yi...
  • The Six Minute Sestina
    The keys to this exercise are contemplation and brevity. 1) Think of someone or something you are obsessed with (3 min). 2) Write a six ...

Some Poems Online

  • "Magnolia Blossom"
  • Body Talk
  • Crossing the Pear
  • "Wordsword" "Adagio"
  • "Twenty Years After His Passing, My Father Appears . . ."
  • "Think or Swim"
  • "The Cruciverbalist"
  • "Reconsidering the Seven"
  • "October Journal"
  • "Nursemaid's Elbow"
  • "Lost in Translation"
  • "Holy Shit"
  • "Her Name is Rose"
  • "Fugue"
  • "Anagrammer" (video)
  • "Anagrammer"
  • "After the Pillow Book"

Blog Archive

  • ►  2013 (15)
    • ►  June (1)
    • ►  May (2)
    • ►  April (3)
    • ►  March (4)
    • ►  February (2)
    • ►  January (3)
  • ►  2012 (44)
    • ►  December (4)
    • ►  November (3)
    • ►  October (4)
    • ►  September (3)
    • ►  August (4)
    • ►  July (3)
    • ►  June (1)
    • ►  April (3)
    • ►  March (7)
    • ►  February (6)
    • ►  January (6)
  • ►  2011 (96)
    • ►  December (5)
    • ►  November (6)
    • ►  October (3)
    • ►  September (8)
    • ►  August (7)
    • ►  July (8)
    • ►  June (7)
    • ►  May (9)
    • ►  April (10)
    • ►  March (10)
    • ►  February (13)
    • ►  January (10)
  • ▼  2010 (121)
    • ►  December (12)
    • ►  November (7)
    • ►  October (11)
    • ►  September (9)
    • ►  August (8)
    • ▼  July (10)
      • The new season of Project Runway starts tonight. I...
      • Interesting brief article over at Huffington Post:...
      • Some recent poetry I've been reading. . .
      • Interesting article about the difficulties of read...
      • From Judith K's blog: a poingnant story about aski...
      • New compost bins, virtual garden tour
      • Colton Harris-Moore Caught?
      • Where Paint and Poetry Meet
      • Happy Fourth of July!From The Whitman Archive: a r...
      • This looks like an interesting book — from an Engl...
    • ►  June (9)
    • ►  May (14)
    • ►  April (10)
    • ►  March (11)
    • ►  February (8)
    • ►  January (12)
  • ►  2009 (147)
    • ►  December (8)
    • ►  November (8)
    • ►  October (11)
    • ►  September (5)
    • ►  August (5)
    • ►  July (10)
    • ►  June (9)
    • ►  May (20)
    • ►  April (20)
    • ►  March (14)
    • ►  February (19)
    • ►  January (18)
  • ►  2008 (246)
    • ►  December (22)
    • ►  November (16)
    • ►  October (27)
    • ►  September (22)
    • ►  August (27)
    • ►  July (25)
    • ►  June (28)
    • ►  May (23)
    • ►  April (21)
    • ►  March (21)
    • ►  February (12)
    • ►  January (2)
  • ►  2007 (340)
    • ►  December (20)
    • ►  November (26)
    • ►  October (38)
    • ►  September (24)
    • ►  August (24)
    • ►  July (35)
    • ►  June (31)
    • ►  May (27)
    • ►  April (30)
    • ►  March (30)
    • ►  February (25)
    • ►  January (30)
  • ►  2006 (421)
    • ►  December (30)
    • ►  November (28)
    • ►  October (38)
    • ►  September (34)
    • ►  August (41)
    • ►  July (37)
    • ►  June (35)
    • ►  May (27)
    • ►  April (47)
    • ►  March (34)
    • ►  February (34)
    • ►  January (36)
  • ►  2005 (414)
    • ►  December (41)
    • ►  November (36)
    • ►  October (45)
    • ►  September (32)
    • ►  August (42)
    • ►  July (37)
    • ►  June (33)
    • ►  May (39)
    • ►  April (30)
    • ►  March (35)
    • ►  February (25)
    • ►  January (19)
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetry can communicate before it is understood. ~T. S. Eliot

*


Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history. ~ Plato

*


A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep. ~ Salman Rushdie

*


Poetry heals the wounds inflicted by reason. ~ Novalis

*


Poetry is what maintains our capacity for contemplation and difficulty. — Carolyn Forche

*


Poetry must have something in it that is barbaric, vast and wild. — Denis Diderot

*


Sometimes something wants to be said, sometimes a way of saying wants to be used. — Paul ValĂ©ry

*