Art from Art

In November 2009, I went to the luminary  walk at the Kansas City Sculpture Park for the first time.  I stopped by George Segal's Rush Hour and was facinated by the docent's explanation of the process used to create the sculpture. So much so, that I went home and wrote a poem, "The Lost Wax Process."

 

Seven months later, I learned that I had written a piece of Ekphrastic Poetry and had joined in a well-established tradition of writing poetry inspired by visual art. Although I rarely set out to do so, I found myself writing ekphrastic poems regularly. Now, they are a staple of my poetry diet, both the ones I write and those that are written by others.

 

This week, I had the opportunity to be part of the opening of an exhibit at The Writers Place called "Art from Art".  It is an exhibit of ekphrastic works. One of the joys of being part of this exhibit is sharing space with friends who have been an important part of my journey with ekphrastics. The other is the diversity of the work that comes out of the simple concept of letting art inspire art.

 

Have you done any ekphrastic writing? Have you ever written a poem inspired by a family photograph? What about writing inspired by other art forms such as music, movies, plays or books?

 

 

You also might be interested in Beyonds Words, at the American Jazz Museum.

 

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