Leo Vroman in Thessaloniki
WAD POETRY 2015
- peace in poetry and art -
The idea is to introduce Leo to the Thessalonikians.
ouI will try this by a public continous installation, two works for the wall
and a solo exhibition, during the events we are organizing for the “International Day of Poetry”.
One of the works will be sent at the WAD POETRY 2015 (which gave the idea, by invitation, to know and work on Leo Vroman)
and the other in “the Greek exhibition”, where documents of “the installation” will be held, too.
`Painting is wordless poetry and poetry is painting with the gift of language´
(Simonides, Greek poet 556-468 BC)
The proven model of World Art Delft / WAD does for the eighth time a good turn in 2015.
In 2015 it has been 70 years ago that peace is restored after five years of world-war.
That´s why WAD would like to give this edition a wisdom of the French writer André Gide from his book The Immoralist `Being able to feel relieved is nothing, being really free is the hard way.´
In recent years we have seen that war and peace are very close to each other; seats of fire in expected and unexpected places in our world are still the order of the day. Poets and artists have, each one by their own way, tried to give shape to this.
World Art Delft finds 2015 the perfect time to show a reflection on peace in this poetry project. She therefore has chosen a poem that propagates the idea of peace widely and serves as inspiration for the participating artists: `Peace’ of one of our greatest Dutch poets Leo Vroman, who unfortunately has deceased in February 2014.
More after photos
WAD POETRY 2015
- peace in poetry and art -
The idea is to introduce Leo to the Thessalonikians.
ouI will try this by a public continous installation, two works for the wall
and a solo exhibition, during the events we are organizing for the “International Day of Poetry”.
One of the works will be sent at the WAD POETRY 2015 (which gave the idea, by invitation, to know and work on Leo Vroman)
and the other in “the Greek exhibition”, where documents of “the installation” will be held, too.
`Painting is wordless poetry and poetry is painting with the gift of language´
(Simonides, Greek poet 556-468 BC)
The proven model of World Art Delft / WAD does for the eighth time a good turn in 2015.
In 2015 it has been 70 years ago that peace is restored after five years of world-war.
That´s why WAD would like to give this edition a wisdom of the French writer André Gide from his book The Immoralist `Being able to feel relieved is nothing, being really free is the hard way.´
In recent years we have seen that war and peace are very close to each other; seats of fire in expected and unexpected places in our world are still the order of the day. Poets and artists have, each one by their own way, tried to give shape to this.
World Art Delft finds 2015 the perfect time to show a reflection on peace in this poetry project. She therefore has chosen a poem that propagates the idea of peace widely and serves as inspiration for the participating artists: `Peace’ of one of our greatest Dutch poets Leo Vroman, who unfortunately has deceased in February 2014.
More after photos
Leo Vroman in Thessaloniki
The installation
During the last month (as an action in public spaces) in 6 bus stops around my lab and home, on the posters (stuck by advertisers or political parties), I was attaching the poem of Leo Vroman “Peace”, until the 15th of December 2014. His poem, not only was talking to the people direct, but at the same time it was a political thesis. After that day, I started gluing my photo on that.
Four days later the pack of the posters decollated (there was only 4 left), manipulated with acrylic and became portable peaces (in three dimensions) for the exhibition in Delft and the X-ART-T Gallery.
At the same time, during this month, the poems ‘Peace’ and ‘Cathedrals’, a sort CV about the poet and Leo’s photo was stack in many other places around these 6 bus stops. But, there was not any other kind of information about all these stacked materials. The passing people had to work in combining all these in goal to understand what was going around. Leo Vroman was (in many places he is, still) in Thessaloniki, but only a few people may know this.
Peace (by Leo Vroman)
[the first and last stanza]
A dove of 100 pounds comes flying,
an olive tree in his claws,
at my ears with his mouth,
telling of lovely sweet women,
telling of hilarious stories
how war is over
and repeats theses a hundred times:
every time I will cry.
Do come tonight with stories
how war is over,
and repeat theses a hundred times:
every time I will cry.
Ειρήνη
Ένα ανάλαφρο περιστέρι έρχεται πετώντας
μ' ένα κλαδί ελιάς στα γαμψά του νύχια
το στόμα του ακουμπά στ' αυτί μου
και μου μιλά γι' αγαπημένες γυναίκες όλο γλύκα
γι' αστείες ιστορίες μετά
ότι ο πόλεμος τελειώνει
εκατό φορές το ξαναλέει:
κάθε φορά θέλω να κλαίω .
(Μετάφραση Ειρήνης Δασκιωτάκη)
Leo Vroman (a sort CV)
Leo Vroman [1915-2014] is a Dutch poet, author, drawer, biologist and haematologist. He has written poetry, prose, children’s books [drawings], plays and essays. In science he is well known for the so-calledVroman-effect in haematology. He has won several literary awards and has published books of poetry up to 2013 !
He is considered one of the most important Dutch poets who has lived in the USA almost a lifetime.
On the 10th of April 2015 we will remember his hundredth birthday.