Have YOU Written Your Six Word Arts Essay Yet?

We did it for the third time last night. Gave people a slip of paper, a Sharpie, and two thumb tacks and asked them to write what the arts meant to them in the form of a six word essay then pin it up on a board.

The first time we did it was last Saturday afternoon at Clark Ellefson’s new studio space on Huger Street back behind One Eared Cow. (The space is pretty phenomenal — I can’t think of anything in the city that compares to it in quality of design. Look for an article on Clark and his space in the July issue of Jasper Magazine.) We were celebrating Artista Vista with a poetry reading conducted by Kendal Turner. Lots of lovely poets came out to share their words — and we were all inspired by the display of Jen Rose’s exhibition, Neural Foliage. (Jen’s work, which involved three constructions of three large canvases, lit from within, is inspired by her work with and interest in mental illness — fascinating and beautiful.) Congratulations to Jen, by the way — this exhibition marked the completion of her her work for her MFA.

This shot doesn't do justice to the coolness of Clark's space, but it does depict the lovely Kendal Turner on the podium.

 

Behind poet Ellen McLeod you can see the upstairs office at Clark's new studio -- beautiful lady, beautiful studio

 

Detail of one of Jen Rose's panels from Neural Foliage

Back to the Six Word Art Essay Project — We’d been interested in inviting the community to take part in something like this for a while, having heard about similar projects on NPR, so the time seemed right. We followed up our first session on Saturday afternoon with another one that night at the Indie Grits Closing Party in an old bank building on Main Street. (My condolences if you missed this party. It was one of those nights when the vibe was right and it was just a great event. Special thanks go out to Wade Sellers who put together a pretty tight little interactive film experience, as well as the good and godly gentlemen of the Greater Columbia Society for the Preservation of Soul who spun like mad for us.) Over the course of these two events we chalked up several hundred essays.

Greater Columbia Society for the Preservation of Soul
Wade Sellers' interactive film booth

People seemed to like taking a moment and making a contribution, so we pulled the board back out again last night for First Thursday and I’ll be damned if we didn’t collect almost a hundred more essays. Some are serious and some are silly, but they’re all worth reading so we’ll be running them in the July issue of Jasper. And we may even collect more entries at our next event, the Jasper #5 Release Party in the Garden.

Bob posting Six Word Art Essays on the wall when we ran out of space on our essay board

 

Two of Jasper's favorite Columbia characters -- and we mean that in the most loving way -- Andy Smith & Chris Bickel

 

Our Art Boss throwing down

 

At least two sketchy characters

So, if you haven’t submitted your are Six Word Art Essay yet — or if you have and another brilliant insight has been visited upon you, feel free to comment in the spaces below. We’d love to hear what you have to say.

 

 

About Jasper

What Jasper Said is the blogging arm of Jasper – The Word on Columbia Arts, a new written-word oriented arts magazine that serves artists and arts lovers in the Columbia, SC area and its environs in four ways: Via Print Media – Jasper is a bi-monthly magazine, releasing in print six times per year in September, November, January, March, May & July, on the 15th of each month. Jasper covers the latest in theatre and dance, visual arts, literary arts, music, and film as well as arts events and happenings; Via Website – Jasper is an interactive website complete with a visual arts gallery, messages from Jasper, an arts events calendar that is updated several times daily, bite-sized stories on arts events, guest editorials, local music, dance & theatre videos, community surveys, and more; Via Blog – What Jasper Said -- you're reading this now -- is a daily blog featuring a rotating schedule of bloggers from the Jasper staff as well as guest bloggers from throughout the arts community; Via Twitter – Jasper Advises is a method of updating the arts community on arts events, as they happen, with more than a half dozen active tweeters who live, work, and play inside the arts community everyday ~ Jasper Advises keeps the arts community abreast of what not to miss, what is happening when it is happening, and where to be to experience it first hand.
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2 Responses to Have YOU Written Your Six Word Arts Essay Yet?

  1. Devon says:

    ART AS SAVIOR: MY ETERNAL LIFE

  2. Micahel Grandstaff says:

    When others talk I just listen.
    I do this for a reason.
    To find out who they hazen.
    To c why they r hating.
    For no reason they r not dating.
    Love hate relationship is for mating.
    To know ones heart that is beating.
    Is life’s true meaning.
    To take someone’s shine.
    Puts them behind.
    I’m not that kind.
    Love don’t have a color.
    Its a blooming flower.
    To hide be hind ones name is a cowered.
    So if u can’t hear me ill get louder.
    Cause it u that I want to plant flowers I’m hard but soft to the touch.

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