A selection of ekphrastic haiku from Monet to netsuke by Alan Summers, Japan Times award-winning writer

Artist: Claude Monet

Artist Info: French, 1840 - 1926
Title: The Bridge at Argenteuil
Dated: 1874
Medium: oil on canvas
Classification: Painting
Credit: Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
Accession No. 1983.1.24
Digitization: Image Use
Open Access

Courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington.

Source: Open Access (OA), via National Gallery of Art, Washington

What is Ekphrasis?  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekphrasis

I'm running a five week course on ekphrastic haiku at the Quest Gallery:

Quest Gallery | The Ekphrastic Haiku Sessions

http://www.questgallery.co.uk/index.php?id=489

The following haiku are by me, and the idea on completition of the Quest Gallery course is to produce ekphrastic haiku by the participants which will go into the exhibition catalogue providing a legacy for both participants, visitors, and the gallery.


Monet’s Haystacks
a group of crows tug
at twilight


Publications credits: Asahi Shimbun (Japan 2010)



Monet’s pain–
the shadows of haybales
lengthening the sunset

The painting that inspired me from the time I saw it at this museum:
http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=1088&handle=li 

Monet's Pain: 
http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=260 

[Monet] remained loyal to the Impressionists' early goal of capturing the transitory effects of nature through direct observation. In 1890 he began creating paintings in series, depicting the same subject under various conditions and at different times of the day.

His late pictures, made when he was half-blind, are shimmering pools of color almost totally devoid of form. 


Discover... Claude Monet:  

http://www.impressionist-art-gallery.com/claude_monet.html 

 
Publications credits: The Bath Burp: Poetry, Music & Arts Monthly Issue No. 10 (2012)



Van Gogh’s wheatfield
the width of a hand fills
with crows

Publications credits:  The Bath Burp: Poetry, Music & Arts Monthly Issue No. 10 (2012)



Waterloo sunset
the Thames disappears
from the Tube map

Newspaper article: http://travelblog.dailymail.co.uk/2009/09/who-stole-the-river-thames-from-the-london-tube-map.html

Publications credits: haijinx  vol III issue 1 (2010); Across the Haikuverse, No. 10: Bleak Midwinter Edition (2011)



the blue
of the aubergine
a spider is caugh
in the netsuke

Victoria and Albert Museum

Publications credits: Snapshots Seven (2000)

netsuke...
the hare with amber eyes
jumps back in again

Publications credits: Mainichi Shimbun (Japan 2011)

Quest Gallery | The Ekphrastic Haiku Sessions

http://www.questgallery.co.uk/index.php?id=489

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Quest Contemporary Art Gallery Haiku Course

The Haiku Course in Poetry and Art:

• Wk 1. The Golden Ratio of Art through Haiku
• Wk 2. Hemingway's Shoes and Mono no Aware
• Wk 3. Wabi-Sabi and Haiku
• Wk 4. The Gentle Whispers of Haiku
• Wk 5. The Brightness of Balance in Haiku

The Quest Gallery Haiku Sessions: 

http://www.questgallery.co.uk/index.php?id=489

 

The Haiku Course at The Quest Gallery

Japan Times award-winning writer Alan Summers has joined with Quest Gallery to develop a unique Haiku poetry course. Each session will be developed in response to the changing exhibitions at Quest Gallery, providing a unique and inspiring environment for learning.

Over the course of 5 weeks, students will experience the fundamental principles that underpin haiku, and apply these to their own poetry that they will develop and refine throughout the course. 

This is a unique opportunity to learn about Japanese poetry, and contemporary art, in the beautiful setting of one of Bath's most prestigious art galleries.

The course includes an event with special guest speakers where students can showcase their own work. There is also the opportunity to contribute haiku to the exhibition catalogue, producing a creative legacy for for both participants and for the gallery.

*Course Outline*

Wk 1. The Golden Ratio of Art through Haiku

Wk 2. Hemingway's Shoes and Mono no Aware

Wk 3. Wabi-Sabi and Haiku

Wk 4. The Gentle Whispers of Haiku

Wk 5. The Brightness of Balance in Haiku

Wednesdays 30 May - 4 July   

(5 week course with one session off for half term)

Times:  6.30 - 8pm

Special Event Date: TBC (Week of 25 June)

Tutor: Alan Summers

Cost: £75 for 5 week course

Concessions: £70

Venue:

Quest Gallery, 7 Margaret's Building, Bath BA1 2LP

http://www.questgallery.co.uk/index.php?id=6

Places are limited so book early to avoid disappointment.

For more details about booking on any of these courses, please don't hesitate to email or contact Sarah at the Quest Gallery on 01225 444142 or email sarah@questgallery.co.uk

Sarah Jenkins

Projects Coordinator

Quest Gallery