I’ve been working on a few things lately, but with the semester beginning, I have to change gears.
At some point, I may post a new transcription of one of my character sketches, work that becomes more painstaking the more I revise and transcribe, but for now, I’d like to share a collage.
Over summer break, I learned a few things about InDesign (which has been a game changer). While my original intention was to work solely with my visual poems, I got tangled in a mess of old hand drawn sketches and ideas for pieces that, all along!, required a program like ID.
One result of exploring the use of images with minimal or no text was a small collection of collages.
I compiled images from my personal photo library, the Library of Congress digital collection, Adobe Stock, and public domain NASA photos. I have to say, it was a blast. My eyes hurt by the end of the day, but I felt I had found a sense of purely visual communication.
As a visual poet, images are secondary to the poetry’s musicality and closeness to abstraction. With collage, I had to seek combinations and aesthetic arrangements that successfully “say” something without writing a word.
I enjoy the piece below because it includes screenshots of an 8mm film video showing my brother and grandfather falling off their bikes. A little schadenfreude, I suppose, but I like to think something meaningful is communicated.
I hope you enjoy it.
Dan Dorman 