RACHEL
With preference for the monolith
her work sits proud
beyond the element of form
beyond the canvas edge.
So private and so palpable
the space beneath her chair
and yet a single idea cast
beside the wharf
her House of 1983
existing now as memory.
A library etched in absent books
the Holocaust In bunker form
that haunts and contrasts with
the cabin in its restful cast
observing empty space.
The weightless luminosity
encapsulated high above
the nothingness of empty form
solidified within the square
above all human presence
She peeled the light
she cast the dark
her work adjudged
both best and worst.
-
Author:
Michael Edwards (
Offline) - Published: December 31st, 2017 02:48
- Comment from author about the poem: This piece describes the work of one of the UKs leading artists: the sculptress Rachel Whiteread who, in separate polls held in the same year, was voted both best artist and worst artist. She is renowned for casting spaces in concrete and this poem refers to the following: a collection of sculptures representing the space beneath chairs, her house of 1983 in the east end of London which was subsequently pulled down, the Holocaust Memorial in Vienna, the cabin on Governors Island New York (see photo and 'empty space' = 9/11), and the luminous sculpture which was a repeat of the form of the plinth beneath it in Trafalgar Square.
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 63
Offline)
Comments5
Good write Michael. Yep, they judged me best and worst too. Best in my poems (maybe!) but worst when I began to sing them! Why did I have to ruin it all by singing?! heehee.
You got it about write Orchi - new years resolution for me is: to silently sing songs that are not yet written - works for me.
Thanks MICHAEL ~ for a beautiful and perfect tribute to RACHEL WHITEREAD ! Because I am a BIOCHEMIST (which is a subject dependent on 3D Form & Function) I prefer 3D to 2D art ! Yours is an exception of course and it always has 3D perspective ! Happy New Year ~ BRIAN
Cheers Brian
A fine tribute to a unique talent, Michael. As all artists and poets know, our work is subject to judgment ... from praise to condemnation. Well captured in this poem!
Her work is unique - she comes up with great concepts which baffle the closed mind - thanks Louis.
Don't get me started on 'closed minds', Michael. They are the bane of civilization.
Good write Michael, you obviously admire her, I will need to look into her life and work.
Thanks Andy. Her work is original in concept (only a brilliant mind can discover the obvious) and is monumental in size. Also to build the work she has had to develop skill and expertise as well as 'invent' new methods to produce her work. It's no mean feat to build a concrete shell that replicates a ghouse and doesn't collapse or buckle and can take the weight of people inside.
Is she a brilliant artist? Not sure about that one - certainly large amounts of artistic interpretation but the judgement as to whether she is an artist is only one criteria against which she should be judged. That's much of the trouble with modern art - it doesn't always fall into a pigeon hole and as a result the 'closed mind' finds it hard to accept it. Sorry - I'm on a hobby horse and my arse is getting a tad sore. Lol 🙂
Thank you for that Michael. We must have an open mind to people who see life differently, I try to have an open mind especially with art and even more so with music, I ended up on my hobby horse yesterday talking to one of our friends our modern jazz when when I played some for her "But is that jazz?" she asked.
Conceptual art can be astounding, mind you I still cannot accept Tracey Emins "My Bed" or Carl Andre's 'Bricks' as art.
I will have to look into Rachel Whiteread.
I've seen both the bed and the bricks and can't say I was impressed but what you can't take away from them is that they got the attention and got the art world talking - but they thought of it first and hats off to their marketing skills if nothing else
When 'Bricks' was in the news one of my workmates and I were discussing it and came to the same conclusion, he then went on to say that if he stood a fork and a spade against a wall he would call it an artwork entitled "Gone to Lunch".
Michael, I think you missed your calling: You should be an art critic!
Great poem!
Thanks Fred - not sure I want to join that band - would rather be known as an artist but artists are only recognised by most critics if they 'studied' somewhere deemed prestigious.
It really is a shame, isn't it? The same with writers who need to be published by a 'prestigious' magazine or paper, before being recognized.
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