Write On Site 2016

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Write on Site 2016

Posted by Barbara Zohar · August 11, 2016

Monday, July 18th to Friday, July 22nd

Students, ages 13 to 15, immersed themselves in site-specific art at The Aldrich, guided by Barb Jennes, poet, writer, and currently an eighth-grade English teacher in Ridgefield. Students spent the week exploring the installations, sculptures (indoors and out), and “play-with-it” interactive artwork of four outstanding contemporary artists. Students then expressed their deep engagement with the creative experience in writing for various literary media. The group collaborated, shared, and created with each other. A selection of the participants’ writing has been showcased in the galleries and on the this blog, offering Aldrich visitors a unique perspective into the current series of exhibitions.

“Logs of Three” - A response to Virginia Overton’s Untitled (Log 1, Log 2 and Log 3) By Rosemary O’Keefe

Posted by Barbara Zohar · August 01, 2016

Logs of three

Flying above me

Making me feel small

Like I don't matter at all

Big black steel

Bold and real

Tiny and slim against

The big logs of three

But do I feel small

Pinned against a wall?

Or do I feel strong and big?

Like the wood above me

Like giants’ fingers three

Are just twigs

Captured and pushed high

Through the power and promise

Of Man’s eye?

And staring upward

At the wooden giants above

And looking and seeing

Had me believing

That the iron

Is bold, sleek and strong

But it just barely holds

The wood

That stretches out so long

And this idea

Revelation

Has unfolded

My mind now en-bolded

The logs of three

Have taught me

The enormity

Of the natural world

And the tiny, tiny me

Barely contain each other

And how great

our beauty can be

For we are not meant to

Control each other's world

For with each coming day

A new triumph is unfurled

For me? For you? For nature?

No, for our world.

“Peter Liversidge” By Rosemary O’Keefe

Posted by Barbara Zohar · August 01, 2016

Peter Liversidge

A clever man

A funny man

He brought smiles

He brought laughs

Through

His view

Of art unlimited

Three rows of proposals

Each 20 proposals long

Hum a merry song

Of proposals thought of

And proposals done

Behind the proposals wall

Are lines that get so close

But never touch

Some may fear there's just too much space

In the room

But to me

There's just enough

To walk right through

And have some fun

Maybe Keith Richards

Might just come in

And play his guitar

Hook it up

To the amp

Turned on and waiting

Across the floor

Rocks kicked in

A rather unsubtle

“Matter, I can prove you're there”

That it's just as real

As the lakes

Pools of Connecticut

Sitting on the floor

Oh, who could ask for more?

More to come, more to see!

Play with the light set of three

Run, dance, and smile

This exhibit

Will have you stay awhile

Enjoy his endless possibility

"What We Hear" By Donata Libonati

Posted by Barbara Zohar · July 26, 2016

It’s not difficult to find the real meaning behind your words
The constricting sentences that are meant to mold us
Into a shell of our being
To make us the way you see fit
They suppress and bind, not allowing us to be
What we are for fear of scolding and judgement and blame
Shamed for holding our heads high because we refuse to face away from the wind
Always flinching, always watching, always waiting
But don’t think we don’t see
Don’t think we don’t hear
Don’t think we don’t know what this is
Your way of disguising the boundaries
Making them seem that they are helping, bettering, “for our own good”
We are more than just flies on a wall
We have a voice, we have thoughts
Don’t expect us to keep quiet
Just because we are an inconvenience to your ears

"Going Nowhere" By Allison Hard

Posted by Barbara Zohar · July 26, 2016

People ask me where I am going -
Where am I going?
I'm going Nowhere
All of the roads will lead back to one
The road that leads to Nowhere
Left or right or here or there
All lead back to one
The road that leads to Nowhere
Except for one - somewhere?