poemimage

The visual & poetic become each the other but not always.

Month: April, 2022

April 27, 2022

(unborn spirit)

Glide like an arrow into moonlight flickering the orioles’ ruffled wing

(orioles)

Orioles chanting obsidian prayers conceal the dragon’s stolen egg

(egg)

Narwhals enchant the solemn egg, vines slither into a moaning abyss

(abyss)

Zebras stampede the abyss pursuing drumbeats of a curvilinear root

(root)

Apricots wish upon the pulsing root beseeching Horsemen of the Apocalypse

(Horsemen of the Apocalypse)

Horsemen of the Apocalypse perfumed by oil rising within eyeball-shaped flesh wounds

(oil)

Oil drips into flames shimmering in copper saucers illumining infinity

(infinity)

Lemmings howl dragging the dark matter of infinity

(dark matter)

Dark matter radiates obediently, obsidian and translucently, imprisoning sunshine

(sunshine)

Glide upon footholds of dark matter buried within illumining sunshine, deliver your flickering unborn spirit

(unborn spirit)

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April 24, 2022

Cubism, Juan Gris & Ancient Iran

Collage and Concept Steven McCabe

Something connected these two works spatially and visually in my imagination. Maybe at first the subtle earth tones. I must have made three dozen digital collages for the GIF. Used many.

Pottery Vessel in the Form of a Ram, Unknown artist, Western Iran, 1350-800 B.C., Ceramic Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Juan Gris, 1912, Still Life With Flowers, oil on canvas, 112.1 X 70.2 cm Museum of Modern Art

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April 24, 2022

Mirror Mirrors

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April 19, 2022

page 27

I thought the gallery in Yorkville might be a good fit with my work. The owner wore a sophisticated black dress. Maybe ten years older than me. European. People told me my work was European. She told me to spread it on the floor. She sat in the only chair. After an hour and a half – of what I thought, seriously I did, was a meetings of the minds – she said, ‘Of course, you know you’re not a fine artist.’ I walked out of Yorkville more than a bit shaky – but dazzled by the timing of her coup de grace.

from my book Meme-Noir (2019)

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April 14, 2022

A Day in the Life of the Sun, A Moment in the Life of the Sun

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Image | April 13, 2022

Three GIFs with images of ‘calligraphy’ (script or symbol) upon the sun.

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April 12, 2022

Moon Tree Calligraphy

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April 8, 2022

John Heartfield & Big John

When I was a boy the radio played a country music song called Big John.

A song about a large miner. He was both ominous and mysterious.

He did not spend decades designing for the theatre.

One day deep underground Big John saved many miners when timbers collapsed.

Through the dust and the smoke of this man made hell
Walked a giant of a man that the miners knew well
Grabbed a saggin’ timber, gave out with a groan
And like a giant Oak tree, he just stood there alone, Big John

He did not save himself.

Like a giant oak tree he stood there alone.

Singer songwriter Jimmy Dean performs Big John on live TV. Note the social realism stage design.

Big John was popular when the folk music revival was reaching its crescendo.

Country music and folk music both express blue collar or working class themes.

Nobody confused Big John with anti-fascist, anti-war German Dada artist & creator of photomontage, John Heartfield.

Heartfield survived the war and spent decades designing for the theatre.

Stage Set Design for David Berg’s ‘Mother Riba’ (Berlin, 1955)

The johnheartfield.com website is both exhibition and biographical historical document.

Heartfield moved through artistic phases and spent decades designing for the theatre.

Heartfield Art. Dada To Graphic Design To Anti-Fascist Antiwar Images To Theater Set Design

John Heartfield was never a miner. He did not work in a mine.

He did not create the stage design when Jimmy Dean performed Big John on live TV.

He spent decades designing for the theatre.

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