“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.” A quote from great thinker Leonardo Da Vinci that perfectly encompasses the utterly complex comparison between poetry as a written art versus visual art.In this essay I will be exploring the idea that while these two forms of expression and production have their differences, they inevitably influence each other and when combined together, can create art that speaks to viewers at a much greater volume.
Visual art as a medium, whether it be in the form of a painting, sculpture, performance art etc. is a way in which an artist can express his/her own internal vision in a way that can be interpreted by many different …show more content…
O’Hara, known as a “poet among painters”(Perloff,1997) has a very unique way of writing that surprisingly is very similar to the methods behind abstract art. In “ Why I am not a Painter” O’Hara speaks about his good friend, and artist Mike Goldberg as he is working on a new painting. The painting titled “ SARDINES” turns out to have no sardines in it at all but is rather a very abstract form of adding in words (like SARDINE) and removing components as the artist sees fit. O’Hara places emphasis on the the differences in process between the two forms yet at the same time, attempts to meet on common …show more content…
Most assume that there is some sort of inherent competition between the two forms. However, the results are not only very interesting but are often questioned by the artistic community as to how they enhance one another or if the intertwining of the mediums creates more meaningful work. It is no surprise that poets and visual artist alike (O’Hara and Goldberg for example) can commingle and coexist in a way that is both peaceful and inventive. Looking at a couple forms of this artistic hybrid results in a new take not only on this revolutionary concept. But encourages the viewer/reader to take a look at the individual components differently and think about how they interact with one another.
The Japanese tradition of haiga, a form of art/poetry in which a painting and a haiku are presented together as one image. Artist Nonoguchi Ryuho is the so-called founder of this crossbreeding of art forms, where the subtle interaction between written text and visual composition play a role in the strong effect it has on the viewer emotionally. Another more familiar form of integration between poetry and visual art is concrete poetry, a form of art where the visual composition not only lends to the meaning and theme of the words on a page, but also adds to the fun and imaginative aspect of the