Buried Treasure...Adding Our Voices To Art History!

HUGO'S SOUND POEM - ATC

There is nothing as intriguing as going on a treasure hunt! The anticipation of what you might find is palatable. And what a treat when you finally make your discovery!

Below you will find my post as part of  Seth Apters's Buried Treasure project. I encourage you to visit his Blog, The Altered Page, to view Seth's and other Bloggers posts from the past. I enjoyed visiting each link. It was great to revisit posts and terrific finding new Blogs I can follow in the future.

I chose my Saturday, 11 October 2014 post because Art History is truly a treasure hunt for me. When I lack inspiration, I look to the past for comforting encouragement and a way to reconnect with my Muse. 

So...are you willing to join the hunt? After all, aren't we all adding our voices to the joyful chorus of Art History?

Saturday 11 October 2014 - Finding My Way Through XYZ...

A call for art from The Carlisle Arts Learning Center in Carlisle Pennsylvania intrigued me. "XYZ" was the unconventional theme for an Artist Trading Card exhibit sponsored by the Gallery.
 
XYZ..XYZ... The letters rolled around my mind...What do those final three letters of the alphabet mean to me?
 
I admit, I have been struggling lately. Feeling uninspired,  I know my Muse hasn't abandoned me, at least not completely, but we just don't seem to be connecting. Projects started are in my studio, half completed, if they had the good fortune to even get that far.
 
And it saddens me. I miss the rush, the passionate excitement of new ideas, of experiments successful...and perhaps not quite so. I miss the joy of creating. But how can I get on track and open the lines of communication fully with my Muse?
 
Waiting for an appointment I pulled a small book on Dada from my handbag. The book fell open to a page with a photo of Hugo Ball dressed in costume and ready to recite a poem. A Sound Poem. My Muse reaching out? Synchronicity? It was perfect. I could feel the spark of excitement starting again.
 
Dadaism as an art movement was founded in Zürich Switzerland on February 5, 1916. Artists are poets rejected the conventional methods of Art and started something new. The Cabaret Voltaire hosted performance art and sound poetry. Hugo Ball wanted to return to "the most intimate alchemy of the word, and even to go beyond it in order to preserve for poetry its most sacred domain".
 
XYZ...over and over...with a rhythm going to the source not only of the poem I could hear, but the uninspired place in my soul.
 
The substrate for the ATC is illustration board. I photocopied the photo of Hugo in his shaman's hat and Cubist costume. Finding the letters X,Y, and Z seemed to just fall into place, gleaned from various magazines. I finished with metallic acrylic paint sponged on to the card. At the end of the exhibit the cards will be traded.
 
Although I'm still finding my way through, returning to Art History certainly has started opening up the lines of communication for me. How do you rekindle your relationship with your Muse?

How Do Your Dreams Influence Your Art?

HUGO'S XYZ - COLLAGE

I love returning to Art History. It is a comforting place...like a warm sweater on a cold night...nurturing, enveloping, familiar. And every time I return I discover something new and inspiring.

The National Collage Society hosts a Postcard Exhibit annually. April 2, 2015 to May 12, 2015 marks the 18th Annual Exhibit. The entries, all 4" x 6" postcard size, are on show at the Tucson Jewish Community Center Art Gallery in Tuscon, Arizona.

Lately I have read a lot of Art History books and articles. They have influenced my thinking while awake and asleep. And oh the dreams! One night I found myself at the Cabaret Voltaire in Zürich, listening to Hugo Ball reciting a Sound Poem. Like most dreams, images juxtaposed themselves without thought of cohesion...just random images shooting through the kaleidoscope of my nocturnal mind.

I felt my Muse was encouraging me to return to the world of the Sound Poem. And so began my entry for the show.

The substrate for the collage is a canvas board. The photo of Hugo in his shaman's hat and Cubist costume took center stage. I paid homage to his poem by incorporating the title KARAWANE. I added metallic acrylic paint sponged on to canvas. It was finished by with a Swiss postage stamp, and a Dada inspired pointing finger and the word Cacodylic.

The Society chose sixteen winners from the entries. I am delighted and honoured to be among them. You can view the collage work chosen here.

Musings by day and night shape our world as artists. How do your dreams influence your Art?