Call for Submissions

Art on Acequia Trail

I walk the trail frequently, and think I know most things about it. turns out I’m wrong. This,for example.

Punctuated Equilibrium

Alison Hyman and Elaine Asarch Announce their Exhibition Punctuated Equilibrium

Opening May 6, 2022

The Artistic, Dynamic Duo Explores and Offers Compelling Commentary on the Pauses in Equilibrium, Caused by Monumental Events
in both Society and Nature through Brush Strokes, Layers of Paint,
and an array of Vibrant Colors

Curated by critic Peter Frank, who really is the person who taught me how to look at contemporary art.

It is kind of a pop up gallery, at the studio of Ricardo Mazal, an artistic force to be reckoned with. I’ve long followed his work, but Hyman and Asarch are new to me.

Vibrant, colorful, emotional abstractions…these paintings are well-worth seeing.

Address: 926 Shoofly, Santa Fe, NM 87505

Punctuated Equilibrium

Available by appointment only from May 8 to May 20. To schedule an appointment please contact: PunkEekArt@gmail.com

Me, Rich, and the artists.

Alison Hyman

Elaine Asarch

Southside Library Show Is Up!

Here are some pics of the installation.

The newest piece is a scroll that re-tells a koan. Full text:
1. The goddess attained complete and perfect enlightenment.
2. She felt pretty good.
3. This Bodhisattva dude said: hey baby, if you are enlightened how come you still have a female form?
4. The goddess said: Are you talking to me? She said: Don’t cut off my legs and call me short. She turned into a piece of cold lava, a potsherd, a medium-sized crow.
5. She was as green as a veined leaf and trembled in the breeze at the edge of the garden. She turned into a moss-covered stone.
6. She said: Breathing in, I smile. Breathing out…well, that’s your problem now.
7. She hears the cry of our world, the goddess of compassion.

INVITATION!

Lending Library of the Invisible—a book arts show
Maternal Mitochondria—Miriam Sagan & Isabel Winson-Sagan
Southside Library
6599 Jaguar Drive
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Opening—May 6, 4-6 pm
Show up till May 31, 2022
Artists will be in residence 11 am-1 pm on May 17 and May 24, 2022.

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We hope to see you, even if Southside seems far away!
Come say hi, and help add to our interactive artwork,“What Am I Hiding and What Do I Hope For?,” which asks visitors to hang their own answers on sculptural trees or put them in slot boxes.

There will be grab and go snacks. And you can visit Southside’s Seed Library, bookstore, or even return those overdue books!
The show will up all of May, and we will be in residence two Tuesday mornings as well.

Forest Fire Haiku by Jerry Friedman

too dry for mushrooms
the forest
grows a smoke cloud

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Readers–Miriam’s Well is posting haiku, tanka, and short poems on this theme. Do send some.

3 Questions

Are you a published poet (book or chapbook, no self-pub at this moment) who would like to be interviewed in this blog?
For many years, I’ve asked everyone the same three questions:

1. What is your personal/aesthetic relationship to the poetic line? That is, how do you understand it, use it, etc.?

2. Do you find a relationship between words and writing and the human body? Or between your writing and your body?

3. Is there anything you dislike about being a poet?

If you are interested in participating, drop me a note at msagan1035@aol.com

CHATTER!!!

I’m extremely excited to be reading twice next weekend for Chatter. And I can’t wait to hear the music!
NEXT SATURDAY: April 9
• Doors open at 10am—concert 10:30
• In accordance with SITE’s building policy, face masks are now optional.
• COVID protocols are subject to change.
• This concert will be held in SITE’s Meyerson Auditorium.

Lee Hyla Warble
Charles Ives Violin Sonata no. 2
Nino Rota Trio for Flute, Violin, and Piano
Jesse Tatum flute
David Felberg violin
Judith Gordon piano
Miriam Sagan poet

NEXT SUNDAY: April 10, 10:30 am
At 912 3rd in Albuquerque
• As the risk from COVID in our community decreases, Chatter is changing our policies in line with other local theaters and arts presenters.
• For events in April, we will no longer be verifying vaccination status for entry to Chatter.
• Masks will continue to be required of the audience when not consuming food or drink, and we will continue to provide supplemental air filtration.
• These protocols are subject to change.

Stephanie Ann Boyd Aurora
Julia Gomelskaya the hint only
Richard Cameron-Wolfe Code of un-silence: a prayer
Juantio Becenti Divertimento no. 5 “Melodrama” (Chatter commission)
Jesse Tatum flute
Jeff Rogers horn
Ruxandra Marquardt violin
James Holland cello
Jeff Cornelius percussion
Judith Gordon piano
David Felberg conductor
Miriam Sagan poet

Check details & get tickets at:
https://www.chatterabq.org/boxoffice/

Helen Pashgian: Presences

On Thursday I had a remarkable experience. My friend Carolyn and I went to see Helen Pashgian’s “Presences” at SITE Santa Fe. I could say various things to try and explain it, and there is info below. But all I can really say was that it was a transcendent experience.
As if to highlight that, I ran into numerous people I know, including beloved friends from out of town. And Gail Rieke, whose work I often share in these blog posts. Here are some of her photos.

All I can tell you is–if you are local, please go look. It is only open until March 27

 

SITE Santa Fe presents Helen Pashgian: Presences, an exhibition celebrating Pashgian’s contributions to the Light and Space movement and her technical prowess as an innovator in her medium of industrial plastics. Using cast resin to examine light in solid form, Pashgian creates sculpture and immersive installations that explore illusion, perception and light.

This first-of-its-kind exhibition in New Mexico surveys this trailblazing artist’s five-decade career. Helen Pashgian: Presences shows the breadth and depth of her work and takes viewers on a journey through poetic investigations of light and space.

First Sculpture Up In Poetry Yard

Desiccation: Dormancy: Deluge, a sculpture by Isabel Winson-Sagan, is the first piece to go up in the Yard. It is made of wood and the plastic caps off of baby formula. It references forest fire, and the flooding caused by ecological destruction.

The photographs are by Matthew Morrow.

Miriam and Isabel are a mother/daughter creative dup working under the name Maternal Mitochondria.

If you are interested in visiting the Yard or proposing a project, contact us at msagan1035@aol.com

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Artist’s Statement from Isabel Winson-Sagan
Miriam Sagan will be opening The Poetry Yard this year, an outside space where sculpture and poetry can be fully experienced. Here is a sneak peak at the first sculpture to go up- a permanent feature of the yard. Made entirely of recycled materials, this land art project helps direct rainfall by incorporating a dry pond. The sculpture’s relationship with the land may change over time- will the wood rot when exposed to water? Or will it remain an ever present reminder of fire and drought? As our climate changes, the sculpture may reflect that change on a local level. Along with the ambiguity and anxiety of climate change, “Desiccation: Dormancy: Deluge” brings up issues of human consumption and how different organisms feed. The sculpture takes inspiration from saprophytic fungi (mushrooms that consume dead wood) and the twin processes of parasitic and symbiotic growth. The plastic and dairy industries are an ambiguous two-edged sword- using unsustainable environmental practices while at the same time greatly expanding human access to food and vital resources. So the question is: how do we achieve a balance between human needs and biological destruction?
The text on the piece reads:
(A triangle) Between me / G-d / and the water

Free Haibun Workshop on Zoom

Santa Fe Community College Library Presents

Haibun Workshop with Miriam Sagan

Haibun is the prose and haiku combination first developed in Japan. It can be considered the original hybrid form! We’ll learn about haibun and write pieces that include timed writing, diary entries, and flash memoir. We’ll practice with placement of haiku, contrast, and metaphorical thinking. For writers at all levels. Background material and resources will be sent to each participant before the workshop

Tuesday, October 5th from 6-8pm (Mountain Time)
Haibun (haiku & prose) Workshop via Zoom
Free and open to the public but space is limited, and participants must register.
To register: write msagan1035@aol.com

Stone Quarry Hill Art Park

About a dozen years ago, I had the opportunity to be a writer in residence in this outdoor sculpture park in upstate New York. It looks like things are taking off there these days!

Clavaria: A Light Installation by Annie Mitchell
Join us at the Art Park in the dark on August 20 and August 27 to experience light and sound artist Annie Mitchell’s Clavaria, a fiber optic sculptural installation. This happening is free and offers a very special opportunity to experience Mitchell’s captivating work that transforms our experience of the Art Park’s grounds.
Happening dates & times:
Friday, August 20: 9pm & 10pm
Friday, August 27: 9pm & 10pm
Register for this special free happening! https://www.eventbrite.com/…/clavaria-a-light…
Photo description: A small figure kneeling amidst glowing blue fiber optics emerging from a large tree. Photo courtesy of the artist.