All in all, Ekphrastic! (5) was a hit. The gallery was jam-packed; even Lowell
Darling (http://www.lowelldarling.com/), star of the current show at Krowswork, delighted us with his presence
(and hilarity). The collaborations were a pleasure and quite different from our
previous Ekphrastic! shows. In this round, the poets and artists worked in pairs and the artistic (non-poetry) component
was one of endurance, performed over time, simultaneous to the reading. The difference
made for a more integrated experience that was kinda like this:
Wonderhaven. Jen Burris hushed us up. She lilted her
collection, “Opera,” by candlelight as we journeyed through the delicate terrains
of Christine Elfman’s photographs. Christine guided us through the landscape
from an antique projector tucked in among the crowd. She switched the images at
particular moments, harmonizing with even the intonation.
Hypnosis. Ben Mirov and Nick Almquist invoked the spirit of
the interweb, full-time jobs, black boxes. They pushed cubes and static through
the mouths of everyone in the audience. Ben’s words and Nick’s GIF’s churned at
a measured pace. Nick’s stunning neon videos framed and reframed Ben’s refrains.
A powerful machine. We all laid down on the floor in submission, in agreement.
Bloodlust. Kevin Killian laid his bare heart out across the
stage, describing an otherworldly tale of heartbreak, seduction, and leachery.
His words groped the photographs behind him: polished figures of a world
adumbrated by the supernatural. Though Kevin Killian and Adrian Buckmaster live
3,000 miles from each other and have never met, their mindscapes intersected that
night.
Jill.
Jill.