Six-Small-Poems-by-Karen-Holden -6

Elongated Head A, 1920 by Alexej Jawlensky.© 2018 Long Beach Museum of Art.
79-3.5; Elongated Head A, 1920 by Alexej Jawlensky. Collection of the Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, California, gift of The Milton Wichner Collection Bequest, 1979. Photograph © 2018 Long Beach Museum of Art.


 

The Resurrection, 1920
        by Karen Holden
 
The resurrection is not as you imagine
body restored and passing among the crowd

The resurrection is a single moment
pained slash of mouth relieved to a smile

 

Artist's Statement
Each of the six poems was written in response to a painting by the Russian expressionist, Alexej von Jawlensky; thus the titles. The Long Beach Museum of Art has a large collection of Jawlensky's work, and I wrote the poems when I was poet-in-residence at the museum. Jawlensky was painting in Europe during World War I, and his work was affected by that brutal conflict.
The tone, the feeling, the artistic movement of each piece became part of the poems, as I sat with the paintings for days and weeks, waiting for words. Certain of the poems resonate with the current state of political unrest in the world, others are small moments about simple acts of living.
 —Karen Holden
Karen Holden. © Joseph Philipson
Photo by Joseph Philipson
Karen Holden is a poet, artist and educator. Published widely, her work crosses disciplines.
Her most recent book, This Music, is comprised of poems written to music, and she was commissioned by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to write a series of poems about artworks in their collection.
Her TEDx talk "The Poem That Is My Life" (given at TEDxCSULB) weaves a life adventure through poetry recitation and drawings.
Follow @
Twitter @klholden
Instagram @kl.holden
Website
https://www.karen-holden.com/

TED TALKS

"The Poem That is My Life" by Karen Holden | TEDxCSULB
published June 30, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew9-f4ETURM
LONG BEACH MUSEUM of ART
Small Print Magazine extends gratitude to the Long Beach Museum of Art for granting the right to present the work of Alexej Jawlensky here and to Candice Reichardt of LBMA for her work securing and reproducing these pieces.

 

Photo courtesy of the Long Beach Museum of Art.
Photo courtesy of the Long Beach Museum of Art.
For more information on the Long Beach Museum of Art, visit: https://www.lbma.org/
ARTWORK
Museum number: 79-4.6
Title/Date of work: III, Number 5: Anemonen, 1936
Artist: Alexej Jawlensky
Medium/Size: Oil on linen-finish paper, 6 11/16 x 5 1/16 inches
Credit: Collection of the Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, California, gift of The Milton Wichner Collection Bequest, 1979.
Copyright notice: Photograph © 2018 Long Beach Museum of Art
Museum number: 79-2.7
Title/Date of work: Autumn Sound, 1918
Artist: Alexej Jawlensky
Medium/Size: Oil on linen-finish paper, 14 1/4 x 10 5/8 inches
Credit: Collection of the Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, California, gift of The Milton Wichner Collection Bequest, 1979.
Copyright notice: Photograph © 2018 Long Beach Museum of Art
Museum number: 79-1.5
Title/Date of work: Young Girl, 1915
Artist: Alexej Jawlensky
Medium/Size: Oil on unstretched canvas, 15 3/8 x 11 3/4 inches
Credit: Collection of the Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, California, gift of The Milton Wichner Collection Bequest, 1979.
Copyright notice: Photograph © 2018 Long Beach Museum of Art
ARTWORK (continued)
Museum number: 79-2.4
Title/Date of work: Chords in Reflection, 1917
Artist: Alexej Jawlensky
Medium/Size: Oil on linen-finish paper, 14 3/8 x 10 5/8 inches
Credit: Collection of the Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, California, gift of The Milton Wichner Collection Bequest, 1979.
Copyright notice: Photograph © 2018 Long Beach Museum of Art
Museum number: 79-3.4
Title/Date of work: Saviour's Face: Number 10, Last Look, 1919
Artist: Alexej Jawlensky
Medium/Size: Oil on paper mounted on white cardboard, 12 7/8 x 9 15/16 inches
Credit: Collection of the Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, California, gift of The Milton Wichner Collection Bequest, 1979.
Copyright notice: Photograph © 2018 Long Beach Museum of Art
Museum number: 79-3.5
Title/Date of work: Elongated Head A, 1920
Artist: Alexej Jawlensky
Medium/Size: Oil on unstretched canvas, 13 5/8 x 9 7/16 inches
Credit: Collection of the Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, California, gift of The Milton Wichner Collection Bequest, 1979.
Copyright notice: Photograph © 2018 Long Beach Museum of Art
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