The Combination of Two Arts

This Thursday was the 2019 Poetry Jam at the BYU Museum of Art. It was fascinating and eye-opening to see the poets perspective of the art pieces that they stood next to. I had never experienced anything like it before. The poems complimented the art in a way that revealed different aspects of the pieces.
One of the poets, Hayley Rawle, read a poem about The Drowned Cathedral by M. C. Escher. The picture is based on a legend where the city of Ys is lost in the sea. The legend tells how the bells can still be heard in the sea. The short poem told briefly of the of the legend and then described the sunken cathedral. The poem was read in a way that showed the mystery behind the painting and the tone of the poem matched the black and white of the picture itself.

Kathryn Passey read her poem at the beginning of the reading named "What will they say?" The poem described a painting of a New York chapel with crowds of people walking in front. The poet described each of the people and voiced the opinions of the artist who painted it. She talked about how he worried what the people would think of his work. The poem ended talking about a single woman
in black who was the artist's mother. The poet guessed that she was placed there to watch over the painting of her son so he wouldn't have to guess what the people would say. It was a touching analysis of the painting and drew my attention to aspects of the picture that I wouldn't have noticed on my own.
Overall, it was a really great experience. I loved hearing the poetry read side by side with the picture that is described. It was a beautiful combination of the arts.