Click to read review of Shard by the Seattle Times's Lucia Enriquez.
Click to read David Francis's Curator's statement for Shard.
Click for the Shard artist list.
The Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA) announces the opening of Shard,
an exploration of textual fragments in contemporary art, to run February 11 – March 12, 2006.
According to curator David Francis, Shard aims to bring together parallel developments
in visual art and contemporary poetry. "In an age of collage and pastiche, textual fragments—words,
phrases, typography, etc.—are common elements in visual art. In contemporary poetry, a new focus on
digitally influenced visual experiments has developed," says Francis, a Seattle poet and instructor
at Cornish College of the Arts. He points out, however, that the two endeavors remain worlds apart
in the institutional space of the university, museum, or gallery. "While it is clear that artists
and poets have been collaborating despite such barriers," Francis observes, "we would like to see
opportunities for further exploration in a direct, real-time setting—in an exhibit that combines
these new art forms in a manner that challenges audiences accustomed to either visual art or poetry."
Opening night at Shard.
Running for four weeks, the Shard show will display work by a diverse group of local and
national artists. In keeping with its interdisciplinary approach, the exhibit will encompass a
wide array of media, including prints and photographic images by David Hiller, John Byrum,
David Baptiste-Chirot, Jill Levine, Kathleen Rabel, and Deborah Stevens; video installations
by Nico Vassilakis, Jason Powers, Jukka-Pekka Kervinen, and Bob Campell; paintings by Rebecca Woodhouse,
Pedro Valdivia, and Damien Sieradski; sculpture by Joseph Keppler, Judi Strahota, and Erika Peterson;
mixed media by Marc Dombrosky, Jon Gierlich, Kristen Ramirez, Judy Allen, and Mario Cro; glasswork by
Jeff Crandall, Mike Church, Joe Miller, and Mark Zirpel; and concrete poetry by K.S. Ernst.
Cabinet of curiosities by Shard curator, David Francis.
Award-winning Seattle poet Heather McHugh will kick off the opening of Shard with a poetry
reading that begins at 8 p.m. Saturday, February 11. The author of seven volumes of poems, including
Eyeshot and the National Book Award nominee Hinge and Sign: Poems 1968-1993, McHugh has also published
several books of translations. In addition, she is the author of a collection of essays titled Broken
English: Poetry and Partiality, in which she writes that "[a]ll poetry is fragment." Heather McHugh’s
reading is sponsored by the Breneman-Jaech Foundation. A book signing will take place after the reading,
which in turn will be followed by an opening celebration featuring live music.
Artist Rebecca Woodhouse with three of her paintings in Shard.
During the month-long run of Shard, a series of events—each fragmentary but each contributing to
the integrity of the whole—will round out the show. All events will take place at the CoCA gallery at
410 Dexter Avenue in Seattle’s South Lake Union District. Suggested donation for admission to CoCA is $5.
- A panel discussion titled art/fragment/word will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. on February 16.
Third-Thursday enthusiasts will want to make time in their art-viewing schedules to see the Shard
exhibition and hear the panelists, who will include artist Joseph Keppler, artist/poet Patrick Donovan,
University of Puget Sound professor Dolen Perkins-Valdez, local art dealer and art historian Daniel Kany, and curator David Francis.
- A gallery tour of the Shard exhibit will begin at 8 p.m. Friday, February 17, to be led by
Daniel Kany and David Francis. This will be an excellent opportunity for art-goers to learn more
about Shard and its historical precedents.
- Poets from Cornish College of the Arts will be featured in a reading to be held Saturday, February 18,
beginning at 8 p.m. The Cornish poets will include Laura McKee, Star Rush, Kim MacKay, April Dennono, David Francis, and Artist Trust recipient Adrianna Grant.
- Seattle poet Catherine Wing will read poems from her recently published book Enter Invisible
(Sarabande Books, 2005) on Saturday, February 25 at 8 p.m. A graduate of the MFA program at
the University of Washington, Wing has received critical praise for her first volume of poems.
"Every publisher announces a debut collection by claiming that the poet's voice is fresh, groundbreaking,
surprising. Wing's actually is all of that," writes Patricia Monaghan of Booklist. "Wing is an impressive talent, well worth watching."
- On Friday, March 3, David Francis and William Kupinse will lead an open poetry workshop from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Participants should bring ten copies of the poem that they wish to fragment or ten copies of fragments that they wish to assemble into a poem.
- Tacoma poets Hans Ostrom and William Kupinse will read their poetry Saturday, March 4 at 8 p.m.
Chair of the English department of the University of Puget Sound, Ostrom recently published his collected poems
(Dogear Press, 2006); he is the author or editor of many scholarly and creative works, including The Greenwood
Encyclopedia of African American Literature (2005), the textbook Metro: Journeys in Creative Writing (2001),
and a detective novel, Three to Get Ready (1991). Kupinse is assistant professor of English at the University
of Puget Sound, as well as a working poet who publishes regularly in literary journals. A gallery tour beginning at 7 p.m.
and hosted by Dolen Perkins-Valdez and Daniel Kany will precede the poetry reading.
- A group reading of writers from Seattle’s Floating Bridge Press will take place on Friday, March 10 at 8 p.m.
Founded in 1994, Floating Bridge Press is a non-profit arts organization dedicated to recognizing and promoting
the work of Washington State poets through an annual chapbook competition, community readings, and other events.
- The Subtext collective will present an evening of "new writing" by Seattle-area poets beginning at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 11.
Founded by Nico Vassilakis, Subtext works to advance the appreciation of "language poetry" and other forms of experimental verse.
The event will include readings by Robert Mittenthal, Jeanne Heuving, Ezra Mark, Bryant Mason Nico Vassilakis;
sound poetry by Dean Wynveen and Martin Bland; and music by Martin Bland. A closing party will follow the Subtext reading and will feature live music.
For the most up-to-date information, please visit CoCA's calendar page: http://cocaseattle.org/Calendar.aspx
