Ekphrastic

"Ekphrasis" comes from Greek "ekphrasis" meaning "description."

"Ekphrastic" is a literary description of visual art.

When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not. ~ Georgia O'Keeffe

Stone Flower, photo above, was a response to a poem by Emory D. Jones about Georgia O'Keefe. https://thelightekphrastic.com

The online journal, The Light Ekphrastic, pairs artists and poets to respond to one another's work. Recently my photos and a poet's response appeared in the May issue of the journal.

In responding to a poem by Emory D. Jones about George O'Keefe, this is the process I went through:

Choosing: I had to choose one of three poems by the same poem. I was elated to find that one of the possibilities was a poem about Georgia O’Keefe, one of my favorite artists. And the fact that she was also married to photographer Alfred Stieglitz connected me even more with this poem. New Mexico is one of my favorite states and her landscapes of that area capture its spirit.

Considering: In my response, I knew I needed to include elements of color, especially warm colors, and rock. I thought a flower would be ideal, both because of Emory’s poem and because of O’Keeffe’s work. Since her style is largely abstract, I decided that style might be best for my photo image.

Creating: I live far from New Mexico but not far from rocks in Downs Park (Anne Arundel County, Maryland) on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay. I usually walk there every day but to prepare for this project, I spent a great deal of time on the beach studying the surrounding large rocks. The challenge was to find one that I could work with and avoid getting my camera splashed from waves crashing on the rocks during high tide. I finally found one part of a rock that held possibilities and photographed it several times on different visits to the park. The rest of the work remained in the hours of post processing to mold the image to my vision of the poem. The evolution traveled through many iterations until I finally rested with this one. (Note: I used Photoshop CC and OnOne.)

When you read words and unfold the layers until you connect, it's your world for the moment. I want to give my vision to others. Most people skim in their reading and never really stop to examine the words in front of them. I want them to "see" the words whether they want to or not. ~ Bonnie Schupp

The Light Ekphrastic, May 2016 issue

Day 354 Be Good

November 28, 2015

(If we live with an open and grateful attitude, every day will bring a gift. This is one of 365 gifts during the year I turned 70.)

A relaxed day in Baltimore…

I started out today with David at the American Visionary’s Art Museum’s Bazaart, an “annual holiday art market” where I wound up buying one gift. Many types of art were for sale—jewelry, textiles, photos, paintings, apparel, sculpture and other art that did not fit into any of these categories. I always find it especially rewarding to be able to meet and talk with the artists. 

As we left, we stepped outside onto AVAM’s “bird’s nest” balcony where I took a few shots looking down on moving figures around the mosaic egg and someone kindly took a picture of us together with the damp and darkening city in the background. On the way to the main museum, I couldn’t resist capturing a reflection of David and me in the outside museum mosaic wall. We could not leave without visiting the Sideshow gift shop in the main museum where we bought some Christmas presents.  

We found a bite to eat at Turp’s Sports Bar on Charles Street with excellent crab soup and hamburgers, explored some shops in Hampden and then went to the closing show of the Erotic Art at Gallery 788 where I discovered one of my multimedia art pieces had sold. On a white background with black letters are the words “BE GOOD,” the two O’s filled in with condoms.

Making money is always good, but spending time in Baltimore with someone I love is priceless.

My gift today is priceless time. 

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> Day 355: Play Matters

You can find links to my other posts on this project here:
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html

              

Day 347 PTSD and a Parade

November 21, 2015

(If we live with an open and grateful attitude, every day will bring a gift. This is one of 365 gifts during the year I turned 70.)

 

COMBAT, part of The New Day Campaign, took place at Area 405 in Baltimore. Graffiti on support beam reads Ship to Hell, which tied in with some of the stories told tonight and was a metaphor for the event's theme and art. Musical performance by Ellen Cherry.

Tonight our calendar held two events. The first was COMBAT, part of the New Day Campaign that focuses on mental health, addiction and the healing power of art. COMBAT looks at PTSD through the art of music and stories. Victim of a near fatal auto crash resulting in PTSD, one of my favorite musicians performed, ellen cherry. Storytellers Lisa and Nick Lutwyche spoke of their troubled experiences, she in an abused former marriage and he as a British navy veteran of the Falklands war. Fred Foote, retired U.S. Navy physician, presented poems, photos and plans for a physical healing space at Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. Surrounding us on the walls, paintings and photographs told personal stories and the front room held a multimedia art installation—all powerful. 

We left early for the American Visionary Art Museum’s 20^th anniversary fun after-party, with a parade, food and music by 3AM Tokyo. At first glance, it appears that both events tonight are polar opposites. Not really. AVAM’s current exhibit is The Big Hope Show which includes survivors of personal traumas. Hope is the common thread for both events tonight. 

  

Hope is the acknowledgement that you are in a narrow space but you have had a glimpse, some flutter, of the possibility to transcend negative confinement and arrive at some more expansive, better, state of being. Hope is not simply wishful thinking, but rather a capacity to hold to the belief that change for the better can and will come, even when you can’t imagine what format that Dawn will take.” ~  Rebecca Hoffberger

My gift today is hope.

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Links for further information:
http://newdaycampaign.org       
http://ellencherry.com  
http://medicagainstbomb.com                  
http://zulfits.com                           
www.avam.org 

> Day 348: Morning Mistake

You can find links to my other posts on this project here:
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html

Day 331 Eroticism

November 5, 2015

(If we live with an open and grateful attitude, every day will bring a gift. This is one of 365 gifts during the year I turned 70.)

Mannequins and traffic cones

Tonight I was one of the artists at an erotic art show opening at Gallery 788. Eduardo, the gallery owner, has put on this erotic show for seven years and its popularity was evidenced by long lines for hours outside the street entrance. The art and especially the performances drew crowds and money was raised for Planned Parenthood. My piece, a street shot of a mannequin strategically held up by a traffic cone, takes on a colorful and humorous tone with help from Photoshop. 
 

The event started me thinking about the difference between eroticism and pornography. They both arouse sexual desire but porn stops there. On the other hand, eroticism goes beyond arousal to offer aesthetics, thoughtfulness, humor and new ways of seeing. For example, an image of a nude body in fine detail might arouse but if the artist depicts the body as a landscape of light and shadow, hills and valleys, the viewer experiences more. The erotic appeals beyond carnal appetite and transcends art which is only evocative. Pornography is sex without a relationship while eroticism is sex with a relationship that carries the viewer further than the prurient. 

Bottom line though is that definitions come down to personal taste. Whatever one’s artistic tastes, the highlight of this event was people watching. It was an eclectic group in age, personality and dress or undress (with an absence of obvious religious garb). Even Baltimore’s Mr. Bowtie, after waiting in line on the street, arrived in his green Bermuda shorts and bow tie. Tonight was a feast of an experience.

My gift today is a smorgasbord. 

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You can find links to my other posts on this project here:
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html