The National Gallery Room 9

On the 5th April 2014, I went to see the 'Magnificence in Renaissance Venice' exhibition at the National Gallery. It was a show case of around 50 masterpieces by the painter Paolo Veronese, the biggest collection of his works to be displayed in the UK, including some major loans from around the world. According to the National Gallery exhibition page,  it required a large scale re-hang of the gallery's collection, with some works being reunited in the same location for the first time in hundreds of years. What has this to do with poetry? Well I fell in love with his work 'The Adoration of the Kings' years ago when it was displayed in Room 9 of the National Gallery. I returned on many occasions to see this same painting as it symbolically represented something quite close to my personal experience of God. I also fell in love with the painting 'The Conversion of Mary Magdalene,' about 1548, previously entitled 'Christ Addressing a Kneeling Woman', which was also displayed in Room 9. I wrote a poem simply entitled 'The National Gallery Room 9' expressing the links between the two paintings in my mind. Then the inevitable, yet unthinkable in my naivety, happened: they removed 'The Adoration of the Kings'. I was sad, but knew that things change and it wasn't my room to decide what was displayed in there. Nevertheless, I excitedly discovered, on reading about this current exhibition, that the reason for its removal, was that it was being restored! Excellent news. So I paid for tickets to see two paintings that I have seen numerous times for free, but within the context of Veronese's other works, including a previous version of the 'The Adoration of the Kings' which I didn't know existed. All that to say that it has given me reason to revisit my poem, simply entitled 'The National Gallery Room 9'. It is good to reflect on times past and to see how far your journey has brought you, how things change, and underneath it all, how great it is to have a faith in God with whom you can share the journey.

'The Adoration of the Kings', Paolo Veronese, 1573-4

As for other links, it seems that Veronese was influenced by Michelangelo - another favourite painter of mine (see 'The Temptation of Saint Anthony Abbot, 1552) who was also a poet. See my previous post 28 April 2011 on this topic.

The Relationship between Poetry and Art

And if the creative and cultural links that we are making this morning haven't been enough: I've just discovered, by browsing through my Poetry Products links on the right hand menu, the following quote by Leonardo da Vinci: “Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.” Oh my word, and I thought Michelangelo was the poet. (I love the links between these two artists!) This reminds me of my poem 'The Pictures in My Mind' - see top of right hand menu. In this poem I express a frustration at not having as good an artistic talent as I would like, but also a gratitude for the gift of words that enable me to express what I see in  my mind at times. Leonardo's quote gives more weight to the communicative power of words than perhaps I am giving them credit for in this particular poem. (There will be others where I have waxed lyrical about their communicative power, however.) Perhaps Leonardo da Vinci wasn't actually a poet, but through his art came to this conclusion. I also presume he means wordless art, i.e. not the style of Stephen Raw in the below post. Nevertheless, I need to continue reading the yet unfinished book that I started ages ago 'The Battles' to see if it can shed some light. I'll blog again with any further in sight...

Stephen Raw - Making Language Visible

I'm going blogtastic with inspiration this morning. (It's amazing what you can do and discover with time allowed for a bit of creative space in your brain.) Having read some of Carol Ann Duffy's work 'The Bees' this morning, I was excited to discover that some of the words had been put into a visual art form by the artist Stephen Raw. To read his biography on his website brings me great joy: ‘Fundamental to all my artwork’ Stephen says, ‘is a love of language and how that language is given a visual dimension through signs we simply call letters: never-failing sources of inspiration. Letters are images in themselves and, for me, that’s more than enough to be getting on with.’ In those two sentences I'm converted to 'fan' status.` The limited edition prints, signed by both author and artists were made available for order. I'm inspired. Having dabbled with word art in the past, I hope to have time to do something of this nature again in the not too distant future.



The Power of Pictures and Words.

I have a problem. It's paper. There is too much of it in my home. In an effort to reduce the eternal pile I often pick up pieces of printed debris, of any sort, from the table tops to the floor, in order to make an emotionless decision as to its fate that day. During one such flurry, I read about the picture above. This isn't my image, but I understand, from 'The Big Issue', (that I had just picked up too quickly browse through before recycling), that it went viral at the end of March after being posted on Twitter. According to the Editor, the tweet explained how this boy had lost his mother in an attack in Iraq. He missed her so much that he drew a picture of her beside him and lay against it to sleep at night. Perhaps it is the mother in me but I wept at the thought sporn from the words, let alone the actual picture which I took a moment to find on the page. The editor's point, however, was that 'If this picture tells a human and horrific narrative in a simple, quiet way, then it has done a job more powerful than the well-meaning but ultimately futile visits to these places by princes and senior politician's wives. We have voices and we can make our voices heard.' (p.3 Apr 1-7, 3013. No.1045). This led me to thinking about poetry and doodles. Powerful messages can be evoked with the simplest of words. Result of today's paper tidying frenzy: I feel, as a poet, greatly encouraged, and 'The Big Issue', saved from the fate of the recycling bin, and held in greater reverence from one swift moment to the next, currently sits on my table to allow the power from the words and picture to digest slowly in my mind.

Thy Will be Done.

I've finally grown up and done it. I am making my will, ('Thy WILL be done' - get it? Do you see what I did there??), including the crafting of my letter of wishes. I am including some poems that I have written to be read out at my funeral. What an emotional process! To re-read a poem that you have written means that you re-connect with the emotions that were present at the time of writing. Nevertheless, I have to admit that I found it quite releasing as it afforded me an unexpected sense of freedom. (Or, at this point, do I have to be honest and admit that it is the sense of control from the 'other side' that has given me this edge? Oh, the continuous humbling journey we are on!). I'd include the poems here, but then that would spoil the surprise now wouldn't it? ;o)

Spoken Word Inspiration

Look What I've found via Linkedin: Binge. A site where poets upload spoken word videos. Included is a Spoken Word / Motivational Channel for a 'Speak Up' contest that promotes the use of spoken word videos that share knowledge and wisdom without glorifying violence, ignorance, and negativity. Here is Shane Romero with his entry. Sign up and 'Like' if you want to help him in the competition via this link.

On scrolling around I found the Faith category of uploads and found this gem by Eric Nixon. A powerful testimony of his struggles through life and finding Christ. Touchingly the filming of his testimony turns into a testimony itself. Watch and see.

Here also is a video from another of my favourite sites: www.ted.com. Here is Shane Koyczan as a performance poet delivering a powerful poem accompanied by art on the subject of his youth and bullying.

 

Doodling brings power to words

Brilliant! Doodles are justified! Per Sunni Brown on TED.com. In Sunni Brown's words: "Doodling is an incredibly powerful tool..." She also states that doodling, redefined, is "to make spontaneous marks to help yourself think. It has a profound effect on creative problem solving and deep information processing....doodling should be leveraged in precisely those situations when information density is very high and the need for processing that information is very high." I often doodle whilst writing a poem, praying something out or studying. See past attempts on the 18 Feb 2010 blog post. Even the simplest doodles can add power to words and vice versa.

Michelangelo - The Poet

I didn't always enjoy learning about history at school. However, I do love art, and when I learn about history through art, making connections between historical figures or events through art or poetry, it fascinates me. Having read some of Michelangelo's poetry in his book "The Complete Poems of Michelangelo", and also being a great fan of Michelangelo's artistic portrayals of the human body, as well as the detailed attention to fabric by Leonardo da Vinci, I was intrigued to find a book entitled "The Lost Battles" by Jonathan Jones, whilst browsing through the National Gallery shop on a recent trip through London. It details the bitter feuds between the two artists during Renaissance Italy. Interestingly it describes how Raphael, a rival painter to Michelangelo, painted Michaelangelo amongst the characters found in the wall painting entitled: "The School of Athens":

"Raphael wittingly included Michelangelo in his mural, brooding massively, leaning his head on his hand whilst he scribbled poetry on a sheet placed on the stone block beside him. His face is downcast in introspection beneath his unkempt black hair."

And here is the painting. A glimpse into the life of the poet at work! See if you can spot Michelangelo in the painting.

Poetry & Art

Inspiration has hit! I have been wondering for a while now how to turn some of my poetry into art to display on my walls at home instead of buying the usual high street chain wall art that is on offer which ends up being, whilst pretty at times, a visual image taking up my living space that has nothing to do with my background, experience or journey. Nothing to do with who I am. So I started searching for links to poetry and art and found a photographer's work on Flickr who had put quotes into a scrap book as a present for a friend. I shall have a go at something artistic and post it when done!

Here it is! Finally an update November 2010. I created this drawing to compliment a poem recently written (in the lower middle of image) and as a way to get into a prayerful mood as, often, my mind races too much to concentrate. I hope to do more soon...

Creative Worship Workshop - TBC Youth Camp 2008

Unmistakenly this was another hard working youth camp. However, I never regret for one moment going and being part of the team. Things were sent to try us, yet we overcame all the obstacles and it was an honour to witness the faith of the young people grow on many levels.

I had the great pleasure of leading the creative worship workshops where the youth were encouraged to be creative in their means of communication with God, and to experiment with new ways of communicating be it art, music, prose or poetry. See below for examples of painting and photos from the workshop. Art created in these sessions was used as background to the song lyrics whilst the young people led us in worship. It was a good opportunity to show their work and it was inspiring to see young people finding expressive ways to communicate with God.



I was also honoured during one of the workshops that two of our many musically creative youth put music to my poem entitled "Eternal and Faithful". Another member of our youth wrote a poem, as well as creating art, which, with his kind permission, I include below:

The Rise and Fall

Lord I have given you my heart
You have taken me into your presence
I have been welcomed into your temple
You show me true love and mercy
I’m so happy that you are with me
I’m in awe of you
But then you make me look outside of your temple
And it is so ugly, full of pain and suffering.
I want to look away but I don’t want to disappoint you.
You take me by the arm and you lead me to the temple door.
You ask me to leave
You ask me to change the ugly world
You ask me to do the impossible
Lord how can I change people who don’t want to change?
Lord how can I love people who don’t want to be loved?

And my Lord answers:

“Because you have me”

Some feedback from the workshop itself:

"I liked the fact that there was freedom to do what you wanted. I enjoyed being able to look through the different versions of the bible and reading some of the poems."

"I liked the fact that there were no people grading my work, like in school."

"Awesome. It helps show there are a lot more ways to worship God."

"It was brilliant. God really spoke to me and touched me and answered my prayers."

"I enjoyed the freedom to do what I wanted (paint, draw, write, soak, pray) and really experience praising God in new and exciting ways."


All in all I loved being part of such a dynamic week where we were able to draw alongside the youth, discuss their life of faith, encourage their worship and to see them grow.

Painting With Words

Using the written word to communicate with God and to express the images He presents us with.

There are many ways that God can communicate with us, and we with Him. Mine’s poetry – what’s yours?

I'll be leading a workshop at "Be Transformed" - a women's conference at St John's Church, Tunbridge Wells, 28th June 2008. Follow the link on http://www.tbc-online.org.uk/.

Conference Workshop Summary:
After a brief talk about my experience of using the written word to both hear from and communicate with God, this workshop will then allow time and space for you to enjoy your current means of expression, be it poetry, prayer, drawing, listening,… alongside the opportunity to experience and / or experiment with others at various themed stations. Simply express yourself as you choose, or enjoy other people’s creativity.

Time will be allowed to share experiences both before and after a creative soaking session. However there will be no obligation to write any poetry or to produce anything at all. Just come and enjoy communicating with God in any way you choose!

Conference attendees, whether attending this workshop or not, are invited to take part in the poll: “How do YOU communicate with God?" prior to the conference. To access the poll see above right on this page.