The hands-on Material Poetics Session was at SCRAP – 801 Toland Street. Assemblage and digital photography at the Scroungers Center for Reusable Arts Parts. SCRAP (“sources for the resourceful”) is a recycling warehouse that for 30 years has offered materials for re-use, re-creation and eduction. It is a workspace oa active in the Altered Barbie Show. Partcipants made temporary installations and boxes based on what was brought and what was found during the day or at the location.

Local artist Bessie Kunath (see picture) mentored this session, in which academics took a literal holiday from language, and unusually quietly concentrated on material poems made from scrap. Similar to langauge poetry, the material meaning is somewhere in the whole, the parts and the spaces in between. These are some of the expressions & actions of the day:

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The antique pickup in front of an old farm barn picture was the igniting spark for the box. From there the clothing and textiles background coupled with a love of the outdoors (why the picture got picked) lead to selecting textiles, decorative items, and various craft supplies in monochromatic hues to be collectively arranged in a three-dimensional boxed collage. Several repetitive themes, (flowers, fabrics, woods, stones, feathers, etc.) were combined to reflect the sameness yet differences found in nature and life. As the themes expanded the box began to overflow reflecting how life can overflow if we see the harmony that comes with the distinctness nature provides. Or one could argue that “Materialism” kicked in and nothing could be eliminated!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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