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a poem & a hokku

November 2, 2006- January 6, 2007

Gwendolyn Skaggs

Alcove

547 W 27th St

A poem c-print 81” x 96” each line framed individually

Using color photographs as syllables, words, and phrases, Gwendolyn Skaggs, embraces and portrays essential structural elements of poetry in a compelling visual narrative. Thoughtfully ordered, the differing images are linear in arrangement, rhythmic in character, and punctuated horizontally with occasional breaks that visually intone a modification of context, or broadening of metaphor. The images gain momentum toward an ever developing rhythm-- a staccato of small vignettes becoming layers of narrative. Each image carries its own distinctive resonance and when experienced in a line, either one to one, or group to group, their serial effect creates a cohesive visual lyricism that evokes the presence of a tangible, delicately rendered poem.

a hokku, 2007 c-print 12” x 49”

based on: Haiku is a style of prose poetry. It is a form of Japanese poetry, the late 19th century revision by Masaoka Shiki of the older hokku, the opening verse of a linked verse form, haikai no renga. The traditional hokku consisted of a pattern of approximately 5, 7, 5 on. The Japanese word on, meaning "sound", corresponds to a mora, a phonetic unit similar but not identical to the syllable of a language such as English. (The words onji, ("sound symbol") or moji (character symbol) are also sometimes used.) A haiku contains a special season word (the kigo) representative of the season in which the renga is set, or a reference to the natural world.

Hokku usually combine two (or rarely, three) different phrases, with a distinct grammatical break (kireji) usually at the end of either the first five or second seven morae. These elements of the older hokku are considered by many to be essential to haiku as well, although they are not always included by modern writers of Japanese "free-form haiku" and of non-Japanese haiku. Japanese haiku are typically written as a single line, while English language haiku are traditionally separated into three lines.

example of hokku: Oku no Hosomichi (1689) The rough sea / stretching out towards Sado / the Milky Way.

Books and DVDs related to artists in this show

Location   Gallery Alcove Address 547 W 27th St, 6th Fl New York (Chelsea) NY, 10001 United States Phone 718-417-1180 Hours Mon-Sat 10-6 Nearby: All 27 galleries at 547 W 27th St

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