May 15: Words
Creating art with words has become an important part of my artistic practice over this past year and I’m curious about that. Words have so much power and carry so much intention, but what if words are sometimes just that, they are just words. Where do we go from there?
I wrote this poem as I reflected on words being words.
A Word Poem
Geraldine M Ysselstein (2023)
Word. Word. Word. Word. Word. Word.
I am a word. I am a word. I am a word.
A word. A word. A word. A word. A word.
Word. Word. Word. Word. Word. Word.
Word spoken. Word spoken. Word spoken.
Words written. Words written. Words written.
Making meaning. Making meaning.
It’s just a word. It’s just a word. It’s just a word.
Word. Word. Word. Word. Word. Word.
No meaning. No meaning. No meaning.
Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go.
Word. Word. Word. Word. Word. Word.
You make meaning. You make meaning.
Your words. Your words. Your words.
During the lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic and in response to the murder of George Floyd four years ago (May 25, 2020) by police officer Derek Chauvin; there were a lot of words spoken in the arts about anti-Black racism. Solidarity statements were written by arts organizations overnight with board members and sometimes with the approval of community members. These solidarity statements were posted on the websites, newsletters, emails, and social media of arts organizations.
And then we waited. We waited to see what those words would mean. And we waited. And we continue to wait.
I didn’t realize that words could be written and spoken without consequence, intention, responsibility, and accountability. Yes, sometimes there was a sincerity in the words, but I’m not sure much has changed. I’m also not sure if anyone in organizations are having any conversations about white supremacy in the non-profit arts and culture sector.
And I wonder about this. Have I been naive to think that words can ignite change in developing awareness, knowledge, reflection, and action? Were these solidarity statements a reactive and performative response which is a state where the non-profit arts and culture sector perpetually exists (eg. in funding and programming)? Was there an agreement of performance for organizations to say the words so nothing needed to change (because we are all in this together, right)? Do arts organizations excuse themselves by saying they are fighting so hard for their survival (financial, social, and relevance), that no time has been spent on embodying these statements of words. Have systems/structures and the COVID-19 pandemic ensured that we are so disconnected from our bodies and humanness, that we aren’t healing our bodies (and don’t know that we need to heal) from white body supremacy? Are the little changes that we see coming from a place of love and authenticity or from fear, guilt and shame? Is imagination and creativity so suppressed, oppressed, and controlled in the non-profit arts and culture sector that nothing can be imagined outside of the status quo of white supremacy?
In conclusion, I have saved my art-study of “WORDS” until the end.
Geraldine Ysselstein, “Words” Linocut printed on paper with stitches of embroidery floss. 2023.
When I was thinking about creating a visual art piece for this posting, I thought about the printing press which uses a mechanical process for transferring an image with ink to paper or cloth (similar to linocut printing). The printing press made the written word widely available, it introduced mass communication, it acted as an “agent of change”, and it has had a legal impact in our relationship to the written word.
I see the potential of words being agents of change if we embody them like stitches to ourselves.
Questions:
There is so much history behind speaking words. How do you feel words in your body?
What if we embodied our words? What would that look and feel like? What might need to change?
Were you part of writing a solidarity statement between 2020-2024? Have you seen an impact of the statement on yourself/your peers/your organization?
