"CHAOS PAMPLONA" IN YOUNTVILLE ART WALK!

The lovely town of Yountville had its Art Walk today and I was able to see my poem in the company of the sculpture that inspired it. Said sculpture was made by Jedd Novatt, and my poem shares its title with his sculpture: “Chaos Pamplona.” The ekphrastic poem project of poets writing “after” one of the sculptures dotting Yountville’s landscape is the brain child of Napa Valley Poet Laureate Marianne Lyon, and I’m grateful Marianne asked me to participate. Here are some photos and it was a lovely day for taking them! I also share another ekphrastic example of a Macaw sculpture  and the poem it inspired from Cathy Carsell. 

(Click on images to enlarge)

EKPHRASIS WITH JOSIAH MCELHENY

I was blessed to participate in a Brooklyn Rail-sponsored Conversation with Josiah McElheny and present two poems inspired by some of his artworks. I invite you now to peruse the YouTube Video. I thought his chat with Charlotte Kent is wonderful and interesting. And at about 1:34:10 of video, I present my poems. Here's info:

Brooklyn Rail's 288th New Social Environment

Josiah McElheny in conversation with Charlotte Kent

Closed by a poetry reading by Eileen Tabios

YOUTUBE Video is available HERE.

Monday, May 3, 2021, 10 a.m. Pacific Time

 

SERGE GAVRONSKY ON "IN-TER-WO-VEN," AN EXHIBIT BY MIRIAM BLOOM AND RON MOROSAN

I was delighted to write the essay for Miriam Bloom's and Ron Morosan's "IN-TER-WO-VEN" joint retrospective exhibition. If you would like a copy of that catalogue, you can contact Westwood Gallery where the exhibit is ongoing through to Nov. 16, 2019. You also can see exhibit images by clicking on the link, though I'm delighted to present the following art (click on all images to enlarge):

Drawing by Ron Morosan 

"Clouds and Sand" by Miriam Bloom, 50 inches high 

 "Hall of Art" by Ron Morosan, oil and acrylic on canvas, 80 x 70 inches

"The Open," a joint and site-specific installation by Miriam Bloom and Ron Morosan

I'm also delighted to present a poem written by Guggenheim awardee Serge Gavronsky. Serge Gavronsky wrote his poem in response to Miriam's and Ron's exhibition; a bio is presented beneath his poem:

Click on all images to enlarge

 
 
 
 

HAY(NA)KU--EVER-EXPANDING

... and we all know that world jetsetter "hay(na)ku"! Now, it's been picked up by poet-visual artist Toni Twong. I post some of her works below, including a moving one written for her Dad. Then she sent me one of  her artworks and I riffed off some hay(na)ku in response and post that too! Twas previously posted on Facebook's CANVAS TO MY SOUL site that presents poetry, art, photography and music!

Here's a moving one Toni wrote for her father Dana Turner:

This one made my old heart laugh:

And here's our collaboration -- Toni sent me a rose and I riffed offa my middle name!

Lastly, this isn't a hay(na)ku but I like it --

Thanks Toni!

OCTOBER EKPHRASIS!

You are invited to North Fork Arts Projects which is pleased to celebrate October as Filipino American History Month by presenting an exhibition of four new paintings by Jean Vengua. Jean’s exhibit is entitled “Poetry Ekphrasis” as each of her paintings is rooted in poems by four poets: Nick Carbo, Eric Gamalinda, Barbara Jane Reyes, and Eileen R. Tabios. Ekphrasis is art inspired by another art form, in this case paintings inspired by poems. Both paintings and poems are presented, as well as a Q&A regarding Jean’s painting process—an illuminating way to enjoy the beauty of Filipino-Pilipinz artistic creativity!

The paintings are

“Calle de Recuerdos” by Jean Vengua, inspired by Nick Carbo’s poem “Directions To My Imaginary Childhood”
“Lunar Night” by Jean Vengua, inspired by Eric Gamalinda’s poem “Zero Gravity”
“Heartlines” by Jean Vengua, inspired by Barbara Jane Reyes’ poem “Having Been Cast, Eve Implores”
“Hourglass and Ellipsis” by Jean Vengua, inspired by Eileen R. Tabios’ poem “Kapwa’s Song”

You can see the exhibition HERE.

NOT FORGETTING MATT MANALO!

I love writing poems "after" visual art and also love it when visual artists create art after one of my poems.  Here's Matt Manalo's "I FORGET FORGETTING MY SKIN IS A RUIN" (2019, 60 x 54 inches):

The  medium is interesting, too: acrylic paint, spray paint, duct tape, and rice bags!

The work was exhibited along with another sculpture, "Displacement (reimagined) #3" (2016-2019), and I think the two pieces work well together--the text resonating against the interrupted and rupturing squares on the other work!

(Click on images to enlarge.)

Matt's works were part of "There Is Enough For Everyone," an art exhibition in Houston, Texas (June 14-July 8, 2019) that "pointed a spotlight at the reality of scarcity within black and brown communities, prodding the limitations, distribution, and access of wealth in the city of Houston and the country at large" (from exhibit description). The exhibition was curated by Michael Stevenson and J. Bilhan.

Thanks to Matt, one of my favorite contemporary artists.

KINTSUKUROI

Alice Brody is a New York City-based artist and she just created an artist's book based on my poem "Kintsukuroi." I'm always so grateful to see a visual manifestation of one of my poems, especially as it's a "miniature book" sized at 2.5" x 3.5".

Here's poem from WITNESS IN THE CONVEX MIRROR (TinFish, 2019), and the book it inspired from Alice below.

What's not known about this poem--well, until you read about it here--is that it's a poem that surfaced when I was proofreading an earlier poetry book, MURDER DEATH RESURRECTION (MDR). In fact, I'm so grateful to its publisher Dos Madres Press for allowing me to insert it in the back of the book at the very last minute. I wanted it in MDR because the poem wouldn't exist without MDR. Afterwards, it slipped itself into WITNESS IN THE CONVEX MIRROR by donning the beret of a couple of lines from John Ashbery's "Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror." So it's got a past, this poem. But don't all poems?



from KINTSUKUROI by Eileen R. Tabios
Designed and Created by Alice Brody

What also is interesting is that when Alice gave me the book, it came with a card featuring a Tiffany vase in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NY)'s collection -- look at the colors!

And here's the book shelved! On a bench within my Tiny Book Library: