Words to Pictures
Insomniac
There are some nights when
sleep plays coy,
aloof and disdainful.
And all the wiles
that I employ to win
its service to my side
are useless as wounded pride,
and much more painful.
-Maya Angelou
Mads Libbus pictured above.
Requiescat
Tread lightly, she is near
Under the snow,
Speak gently, she can hear
The daisies grow.
All her bright golden hair
Tarnished with rust,
She that was young and fair
Fallen to dust.
Lily-like, white as snow,
She hardly knew
She was a woman, so
Sweetly she grew.
Coffin-board, heavy stone,
Lie on her breast,
I vex my heart alone,
She is at rest.
Peace, peace, she cannot hear
Lyre or sonnet,
All my life’s buried here,
Heap earth upon it.
-Oscar Wilde
Josephine Lauck pictured above.
Where the Sidewalk Ends
There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.
Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.
Yes we’ll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we’ll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.
-By Shel Silverstein
Mads Libbus pictured above (again).
Explanations:
Insomniac: When reading this poem I am reminded of my personal experience with sleeplessness. I can feel the frustration and fear that comes with a sleepless night. I see the shadows that may creep across my room keeping me awake late hours into the night. With these three images I attempted to portray those feelings a bring those shadows to light.
Requiescat: This poem describes a beautiful young woman and the affect her death has on the author. Since I had no access to graveyards or carcasses, I decided to take a less literal approach. The first image pretty clearly references the lines “Speak gently, she can hear The daisies grow” since the subject is lying in the grass, eyes closed, almost appearing to be listening to them. In the other two images, she is placed not quite hidden, but surrounded or blocked by, making her appear distant and impossible to reach just like the dead.
Where the Sidewalk Ends: This series strays from the literal meaning of the poem the most. Although Mads is placed at the edge of the sidewalk in the final photo, that’s as close to the source material gets. While taking images inspired by this poem, I was reminded a lot of my childhood. I grew up reading Shel Silverstein poems and we were shooting in a park with a very whimsical playground. These images are mostly meant to capture a feeling of youth and playfulness with their bright colors and the way Mads looks joyously and shamelessly into the camera.
Artist’s Statement:
The idea of my project was simply to explore how writing can inspire images in different ways. My project didn’t turn out the way I expected it to at all. I assumed that my images would be much more literal interpretations of poetry, rather than being truly inspired by it. In my photos I clung to specific descriptions, emotions, memories or concepts to guide my work.
Kalea Monroe 