Gathering

November 26, 2009 by artistsdaughter

A poem about a different kind of space, for Thanksgiving.

.

Gathering

Placed . .

Just so

Across from one,

To the

…..Right . . .

………..Of the other

The sister . . . .

Seated across

FRom . . the brother

The dad

From the mother

Grandfather . . . . .

At the

Head

Of the table

To tell

The

Tales

AS only

He was able.

There now.

All is

In

Place.

A kindly

Light.

A

Holy

Space.

—————

———

Copyright 2009 Bruce MacGibeny. All rights reserved.

Art/Poetry Mash-Up: SPACE

November 25, 2009 by artistsdaughter

NASA recently announced the discovery of water on the moon. The moon appears in dozens of Bruce’s poems and, coincidentally, I recently rediscovered a cache of paintings that he had done featuring space travel.

It is an unusual group. Ordinarily, Bruce draws or paints whatever comes to mind at the time he picks up a pen or brush. Although his subject matter recurs over the course of many years (still lifes, figures, etc.), very rarely has he rendered a single motif in a single style in consecutive works. In the 1980s, he did a series of highly varnished, candy-colored paintings of astronauts and rocketships likely inspired by the space shuttle missions that were so active during that decade, including Columbia, Challenger, Discovery and Atlantis. These paintings are sheer fun. At the same time, if you look at them long enough, you might detect enough pathos to make you wonder, what is really happening there? What is s/he thinking? If they were comics, they would have thought bubbles that would reveal their mysteries.

These space travel paintings will be photographed professionally later this month. They’re so glossy (as you can see below) that it’s hard for me to get good pictures of them myself. Also below is Bruce’s poem “SPACE,” describing, as his poems about the moon often do, our intimate connection to it, rather than distance from it.

.


Spacegirl
Acrylic and pencil on canvas, 10″ x 10″

.

SPACE

Wide Sweep . . .
Of the horizon line

EXpanding into self-completeness . . .

Leading to

Anagogic revelation

……….The ultimate

……….Made intimate

……….The
Huge

Dealt as a
Stack
Of
CardS . . . .

To
Be
Played . . . . .

AS

One
Wishes.

The
Dishes in
The
Sink

Elevated

To
Whirling planets!

To
Pass quite

Beyond
The
Moon — .

To yet another
Planet

And Another moon.

—————

———

Artwork and poetry copyright 2009 Bruce MacGibeny. All rights reserved.

Art/Poetry Mash-Up: BOX OF CRAYONS (fragment)

October 6, 2009 by artistsdaughter

Crayon is one of many media Bruce has used in his paintings on canvas and works on paper. He holds great regard for his materials and views them not just as implements or sources of color, but as dynamic objects. For many years he had a habit of adding his tools right into his pictures. Many of his artworks incorporate the actual crayons, pencils, markers, paintbrushes, paint tubes and pallette knives he had used.

The work on paper below, Regretful, incorporates an actual oil pastel (like a crayon, but oil-based rather than wax-based). The label of the pastel says “Cray-Pas Expressionist.” Bruce declares himself an Expressionist artist — however, he chose this object for its aesthetic qualities and the strength it brings to the composition, not for the meaning of its text.

.

BOX OF CRAYONS (fragment)

A
Box of crayons — — —

Has
Missiles of meaning

Wandering
Over a child’s
Battlefield.

Bright
Orange and red
Polka dots — — —

Spilling out . . .

The margins
Of
Life —

Trifling with

Rifle shots of

Purple
. . . Or
Green

. . .

—————

———

RegretfulRegretful
Acrylic, marker and actual oil pastel on paper, 24″ x 19″

Regretful (detail)Regretful (detail)

Artwork and poetry copyright 2009 Bruce MacGibeny. All rights reserved.

Art/Poetry Mash-Up: The Glass (fragment)

September 22, 2009 by artistsdaughter

.

The Glass (fragment)
.

The
Crystal goblet
Drank light

—————

———

Still Life
Still Life
Oil on canvas, 10″ x 10″


Artwork and poetry copyright 2009 Bruce MacGibeny. All rights reserved.

Morning (fragment)

September 15, 2009 by artistsdaughter

An exuberant verse from one of Bruce’s poems, which I’m finding inspirational today:

.

Morning (fragment)
.

Life’s a
Golden
Locket.

Open it!

—————

———

Copyright 2009 Bruce MacGibeny. All rights reserved.

Happy Anniversary

August 19, 2009 by artistsdaughter

Today Bruce and Emilie celebrate 48 years of marriage. That impressive number pales in comparison to the number of poems that Bruce has written about her, and their marriage, over the years. As a gift (like last year), I made an anniversary book for them containing a newly discovered trove of those poems, which they enjoyed greatly.

This painting by Bruce captures them *perfectly*.

Happy Anniversary!

Us

Us (detail)
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 58″ x 46.5″


Artwork copyright 2009 Bruce MacGibeny. All rights reserved.

Art/Poetry Mash-Up: Over My Shoulder – Guest Artist Margot (Meg) MacGibeny Sturt

July 28, 2009 by artistsdaughter

My father is not the only one in the MacGibeny family with artistic inclinations. Bruce’s sister, Margot (Meg) MacGibeny Sturt, is a talented photographer. She has participated in group exhibitions and sold her work through those shows and word of mouth. She is also an active member of the Photo Art Journals group on Yahoo, which recently featured her photo Deep Freeze Art Deco Montreal on its home page. As a result of that affiliation, Meg’s work was selected to appear in the new book “Collaborative Art Journals and Shared Visions in Mixed Media” by L.K. Ludwig. It is always a treat to receive one of her handmade cards with a custom photo on the cover.

When they were in college, Meg would sing to Bruce’s piano accompaniment; they even had a radio show together in Alton, Illinois. She says that she now sings through her photography. To my ear and eye it is a rich, clear voice. Her scenes of nature, including sea and sky and earth, and her occasional pictures of people, direct your attention. She captures moments that pass too quickly and details that others might overlook. She said of the photo below, “We could not move, did not move, for several minutes marveling in the beauty — we did not stay long enough to see any movement or change, but believe its continuing journey must have been spectacular…or did it just dissolve and disappear?”

Meg says that Bruce’s poetry has spoken to her over the years even more than his visual art, so this is an ideal collaboration. Enjoy this mash-up of Meg’s photograph, Over My Shoulder, with Bruce’s poem, Clouds.

.

Clouds

.

The centenary
Progression . . .

Of billows . .
And
Bastions

Proceeds . . . . .

Across the sky

Into . . . .

The
EYE

Of the beholder!

The seasons of
The clouds

Infinitely various

Lead

To
The conclusion

That
Rather than read

The
Stars

One
Should

Read

The
Clouds.

—————

———

Over My Shoulder

Over My Shoulder
Saratoga Springs by the Library, 1995


Poetry copyright 2009 Bruce MacGibeny. All rights reserved.
Photograph copyright 2009 Margot Sturt. All rights reserved.

See more art/poetry mash-ups:

Art/Poetry Mash-Up: Fireworks

July 4, 2009 by artistsdaughter

A poem and painting for Independence Day.

.

Fireworks

The
Plunge into darkness

Of fireworks . . .

Is More . . . .

Than color and flame

Is the same

As

Adventure

In boredom.

To

Break Up . . . . . the

Staid

Similarity

Of
Sameness.

The
Endlessness —

Of
Endings.

Burst high –

Burst far

Light
My
Night

With
What
You
Are – .

—————

———

Fireworks

Fireworks
Oil on canvas, 24″ x 19.5″


Artwork and poetry copyright 2009 Bruce MacGibeny. All rights reserved.

See more art/poetry mash-ups:

Sunshine

June 26, 2009 by artistsdaughter

Immediately after yesterday’s poem about rain, the sun came out and has not gone away. (Just like when I carry an umbrella — guarantees a dry sky.) It is only fair to share this shining bit from an early poem of Bruce’s entitled “Happiness”:

.

Happiness (excerpt)


Smile on, sun!
We never cease
……..Hearing you!
Like the
……..Wind that rips
The
……..Lily-of-the-valley
Course our spines
……..With
……..Yellow
……..Laughter!

—————

———

Copyright 2009 Bruce MacGibeny. All rights reserved.

RAIN

June 25, 2009 by artistsdaughter

Endless rain here in the Northeast U.S., and more, including thunderstorms, on the way. (June may set a record for rainiest month in New York City.) Bruce recently told me that the rain doesn’t bother him at all. He has written many poems about rain, likely all while it was actually falling. For him it has always been just another aspect of nature to contemplate and be inspired by.
.

RAIN


The rain dripped

from the top
Of the window — —

To the window sill

In one — — —
Sheet of silver

Tapping a message

In Morse code . . .

That
Spelled ‘weather’ . . . .

Whether or not
You
Listened . . . . .

You
Could not miss
The
Drift . .

It
Kind
Of
Explained
Itself

Defined
Its
Function

Eloquently

Without
Equivocation

Not
Dissembling

Only
Reminding
You

Of
Other
Rains — .

—————

———

Copyright 2009 Bruce MacGibeny. All rights reserved.