ART - INSIDE & OUT

These poems came out of a  few days in DC the nations capital finding the RENWICK Gallery of Folk Art  inspiring and discovering the outside artwork and murals on the Metropolitan bike trail and buildings around Washington DC and also  experiencing the National Zoo.  The last poem was written in 2011 about WARLI art created in India.  You will see the connection!

Transcript

Art Inside & Out

We spent a few days in the nations capital, with limited access to Smithsonian museums and galleries we went to our favorites and the Zoo.  We also discovered the outside artwork and murals on the Metropolitan bike trail and buildings around Washington DC.  Check out www.walkingpoet.net   to see my Washington photos.

THE RENWICK - FORCES OF NATURE

https://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions?museum%5Brenwick%5D=renwick

Entering into the land and sound

of Indigo.

square flags of pure cotton

waving in the breeze and music

Great Craft art work 

captures my attention

triggers our emotions.

It seems so fresh, confronting

awakening, inspiring

creative and concept breaking

packaged with perfection

and skill.

Transmuting an earthquake

into astounding beauty

Ever-changing rainbows of fibre

above and below

I lie underneath an effervescent sky

transported into the world of

Janet Echelman’s 1.8

Skillful deception and ingenuity

seem to cloak Wendell Castle’s Ghost Clock

 in a white shroud that is pure white wood

Consummate vision, design and craftsmanship

starting with the rawest of raw materials

harnessing the forces of nature, fire, air and water.

Metal ore and nuggets are forged, beaten, machined and filed

becoming The Coffer of Seth Gould.

Glowing luminescent multicolored patterns 

embedded in the glass sculpture

becomes

The Ruby red foot mongo

with kissing serpents and lily pad.

Hanging like a trophy

whimsical, colorful, imaginative

the Florida gamefish of Larry Fuente

Then

Time disappears

In the process of craft making

In the process of enjoying;

And the world outside

changes as my senses

have been woken up

by so many hands and minds

who have seen the world

so differently.

DC METRO BIKE TRAIL

It all started at mile 1.2

As I, an older white guy

strolling down the trail

feeling black lives matter

Saw

the bright pumpkin and black mural

appears and grows before me

I discover black hair matters too.

As Adrienne, Taryn and Casey

complete the finishing strokes.

Then

A giant B&W Abe Lincoln

looks down on the workers

no longer called slaves

as their new business owners 

reap the big rewards.

Women in science

bursts into a rainbow of colors

Opposite the green and purple 

wavy dragon

bordering the shichi dog park

Now the giant humming bird

hovers on the transformer house

while passing riders are attacked

by the vicious teeth 

of a gigantic red fish

surrounded by a planetary smorgasbord

Finally all is well

as the beautiful girl 

touches her face in the mirror

reminding us all of our own

inner beauty.

DC on the move

flashing past

not so fast

so they can still enjoy

this artful trail.

ZOO TIME

As we learn that fresh air

beats the virus

so off we go to The National Zoo.

Lesser Kudu shows his stripes

zebra runs away and hides,

The western lowland gorilla big daddy

smiles and poses, stares eye to eye.

Black tailed prairie dogs hug each other 

maybe two brothers and their mother,

hairy orangutan hangs from the cable above

while the przewalski horse is mongolia’s love

The Asian elephant drops a BOLI

that’s a big one, holy moly

That keeps busy the cleanup crew

I miss the short eared elephant shrew

and where are those little sand cats

Brilliant hunters of snakes and rats.

We reach the bottom of the hill

seen enough for the while

lets hitch a ride home for a rest

Along comes Sharada*, she’s the best.

(*Our daughter drove over and picked us up)

Warli Poems #1

Cow dung has many uses,
 Once we have no excuses.
 Beautiful cakes round and dry
 For cooking and heating - cow dung pie.

 Mix with water spread on thick,
 Coat the walls – voila - warm brick.
 A thinner mix goes on the floor,
 Kills the bugs we all abhor.

 Finally who would have thought

On it great artwork could be wrought.

White rice paint, stick like gnomes

On the walls of Warli homes.

Then portable paintings came later
 On dung coated, brown kraft paper
 Jyvya’s dreams now travel well
 To Pennsylvania - with no smell.

©MartinStrasmore2021