Last week I showcased some of the young artists I met at the Explore the Arts camp at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville, SC. In this post you’re going to meet more artists and also hear about how art inspires writing. The pictures, videos, and poetry are mine. The italicized portions are excerpts from an essay by Donna Baier Stein, “Art for Contemporary Writers” that appeared in the July/August issue of Writer’s Digest.
Ekphrasis and….Collage?
The literary term for describing in
words what you see in a picture is
ekphrasis. The practice can be traced
back to Plato and Aristotle, through
the Renaissance and the works of the
Romantic poets, all the way into literature of the 19th century. Typically,
the word ekphrastic is applied to
poetry.
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| Creating collage with Judy Verhoeven |
But fiction writers, too, can derive inspiration from physical works of art. Herman Melville uses ekphrasis in Moby-Dick…Taking the practice a step further, visual images can become actual prompts for an entire story or novel.
Ekphrasis and….Dragons?
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| Eric Benjamin demonstrates the art of dragon drawing |
Whatever medium you choose—
from painting to sculpture, pottery
to pencil illustrations—art can trigger a story inside of you. Here are
some ideas for finding your own
ekphrastic story starter:
*Wander through a museum *Browse an art collection online*Visit a local gallery *Check out a book of art history
from the library*View a collection of poster prints
online or in a store.
(Carol’s addition: Visit your local arts camp or school!)
The old aphorism “a picture is
worth a thousand words” is most often attributed to Arthur Brisbane, a famous newspaperman. In 1911,
Brisbane urged members of the
Syracuse Advertising Men’s Club, “Use
a picture. It’s worth a thousand words.”
He believed in catching a reader’s
attention fast and forcefully. Don’t
waste your time fumbling for words, he
was saying, when an image can get the
job done better. Inadvertently, perhaps,
Brisbane was setting up pictures and
words as opposing forces. Ekphrastic fiction reunites the two, as a picture
can actually produce a thousand words.
Ekphrasis and…Music?
If Brisbane is correct, how many words do these videos inspire?
Ekphrasis and….Improvisation?
Ekphrasis and….Me?
Thank you, Donna Baier Stein for introducing me to the concept of ekphrasis. And thank you, Explore the Arts students, for giving me the opportunity to practice it.
Lovely post, Carol. I do believe that there's a natural cross-pollination between the arts (and science too). The piano playing and scribbling/doodling helps me to write.
Thanks, Vijaya! Obviously I agree!
What lovely work is going on there! Thanks for this post.
Thanks, Rosi, for taking the time to visit my blog. Glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks for these “art appreciation” posts, Carol. Love the word ekphrastic! I always seek out any visual material I can find for world building of my historical fiction. Advice for writers from me: “If you can't see it, you can't write it.”
thanks, Clara. Yes– I'm pretty visual too. I had to find a house one of my protagonists lived in, in order to be able to picture it!
Lovely post, Carol. I do believe that there's a natural cross-pollination between the arts (and science too). The piano playing and scribbling/doodling helps me to write.
Thanks, Vijaya! Obviously I agree!
What lovely work is going on there! Thanks for this post.
Thanks, Rosi, for taking the time to visit my blog. Glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks for these “art appreciation” posts, Carol. Love the word ekphrastic! I always seek out any visual material I can find for world building of my historical fiction. Advice for writers from me: “If you can't see it, you can't write it.”
thanks, Clara. Yes– I'm pretty visual too. I had to find a house one of my protagonists lived in, in order to be able to picture it!