Artist Produces Poetry on Demand for Nelson-Atkins Museum
Kansas City, MO. June 20, 2011
zach houston:poemstore Uses Visitors’ Ideas to Create Poems
How does it feel to be inside a poem? Visitors to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art exhibition zach houston:poemstore, June 25 through July 31, will find out. Images and words on pieces of paper will be attached to the walls of the project space while San Francisco-based poet Zach Houston sits at his small, manual typewriter, waiting for visitors to give him a word. Once he has a word, Houston quickly types a poem on the spot and asks visitors to pay what they wish.
“Zach Houston’s poems are free-form and often assume shapes on the paper,” said Jan Schall, Sanders Sosland Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art. “Poetry is very personal. It encourages contemplation of both momentary experience and profound ideas. Visitors will be able to see a work of art created and be able to bring it home with them.”
Houston’s free verse poetry is spontaneous and immediate, his fingers rapidly pecking out words with no deleting, no whiting out, and no starting over. Typos and misspelled words become game changers that take the poem into unforeseen directions. In minutes, the person who provided the single word of inspiration holds a completed poem.
“Since 2005, I have operated a performance/literature/business/art piece referred to as ‘poemstore’ that consists of composing custom poetry on a manual typewriter in exchange for a donation,” said Houston. “It has been my only ‘job’ since 2007.”
Houston‟s improvisational spirit also extends to his drawings. Lines meander, intersect and evolve into images. Words and diagrammatic marks enter the picture, simultaneously suggesting and denying meaning, mapping the artist’s mind.
“Houston’s art and poetry are in dialogue with that of the early 20th-century Dada and Surrealist artists and poets,” said Schall. “They offer cultural critique, whimsical delight and tender revelation, always spoken from the heart.”
Special programs scheduled during zach houston: poemstore:
Creative Café
Saturday, June 25–Sunday, July 31
FREE
Museum Café (Bloch Building, Plaza Level)
Be inspired by zach houston: poemstore in the new Creative Café. Typewriters and magic drawing boards provide a hands-on way to express your creativity through poetry and art.
Art in the Real World
1:30–3:30 p.m.
June 28–July 1
$85/$105
Ages: 14-18
Resident Artist: Zach Houston
Spend a week getting to know Zach Houston, see his installation of word/image art and discuss his unconventional occupation as a street poet. Students will work collaboratively with Houston to explore their own creative process.
Young Friends of Art Poetry Pile-up
Thursday, June 30
6–8 p.m.
T, Lens 2
$10/$12.50
Is it poetry or not? Meet honorary curator of this event and artist of poemstore, Zach Houston, for a lively poetry contest. Teams will create poems using words provided and Zach will judge each poem with great candor. Reception with light fare to follow. Cash bar with special prices for members.
Curator and Artist are IN!
What Does It Say?
Friday, July 8
7–8 p.m.
Meet in Gallery P1
Take a unique journey through text and image as curator Jan Schall and artist Zach Houston discuss works of art in galleries throughout the Nelson-Atkins.
Sunday, July 17
Family Festival: Ferment!
1–4 p.m. FREE
Join us for a day to celebrate your budding artists with an amazing afternoon of family activities! You‟ll see a brilliant 56-foot sculpture installation (Roxy Paine’s Ferment), a commissioned performance by Owen/Cox Dance Group and programming related to conservation and the natural environment.
Visitors who attend the Family Festival: Ferment! celebration on Sunday, July 17 from 1 until 4 p.m. will have the opportunity to meet artist/poet Zach Houston.
Poetry and Discussion
The Poets Speak
Thursday, July 21
6–7 p.m.
T, Atkins Auditorium
What does it take to make a living as a poet? Where does poetry live? How do intellectual property rights impact the written and spoken word? Join curator Jan Schall, artist Zach Houston and local poets Robert Stewart, Linda Rodriguez and Hadara Bar-Nadav for a conversation about poetry today. Panelists also will read from their work.
This exhibition is supported by the Campbell-Calvin Fund and Elizabeth C. Bonner Charitable Trust for exhibitions and the Rheta A. Sosland Fund.
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
The Nelson-Atkins in Kansas City is recognized nationally and internationally as one of America‟s finest art museums. The Nelson-Atkins serves the community by providing access and insight into its renowned collection of more than 33,500 art objects and is best known for its Asian art, European and American paintings, photography, modern sculpture, and new American Indian and Egyptian galleries. Housing a major art research library and the Ford Learning Center, the Museum is a key educational resource for the region. The institution-wide transformation of the Nelson-Atkins has included the 165,000-square-foot Bloch Building expansion and renovation of the original 1933 Nelson-Atkins Building.
The Nelson-Atkins is located at 45th and Oak Streets, Kansas City, MO. Hours are Wednesday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; Thursday/Friday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sunday, Noon–5 p.m. Admission to the Museum is free to everyone. For Museum information, phone 816.751.1ART (1278) or visit nelson-atkins.org/.