© outi art
When Lady Serenity
saw me, she swerved.
Her detour a reminder not to dwell on anxiety.
I want to absorb the tempo of my hero.
Go with her on a journey. We’ll decide.
Fill a syrup-colored packing case with maps loosely packed.
Plan our getaway on the back of a paperback. Take me with you.
Two bodies mutter to each other in smoke rings.
Signals blow back and forth. The mysterious air
between the pair: cloaks their mystery.
What are they saying? Is language extinct?
Are words with all their meanings obsolete
now. Frozen. Stiff.
Our vanishing act is a spectrum of messages tiptoeing the resonance frequency. Body of light and energy. The sun glares at us. We stare back.
South African poet Willie Kgositsile posited the necessity of putting aside poetry in the face of looming revolution.
“When the moment hatches in time’s womb there will be no art talk,” he wrote. “The only poem you will hear will be the spearpoint pivoted in the punctured marrow of the villain….Therefore we are the last poets of the world.”
… and pondering the deaths of some of my beloved friends in Sierra Leone. Victims of Ebola… or a fate worse than death?
Where does peace start?
In Mahatma Gandhi’s book “The Story of My Experiments With Truth.” Gandhi said: “When every hope is gone, ‘when helpers fail and comforts flee,’ I find that help arrives somehow, from I know not where. Supplication, worship, prayer are no superstition; they are acts more real than the acts of eating, drinking, sitting or walking. It is no exaggeration to say that they alone are real, all else is unreal.”
Imagine yourself born with a different skin colour.
Which colour(s) would you superimpose onto your DNA?
Who’s looking at you now?
Do you feel your privileges taken away?
Do you feel enlightened?
At peace?
On top of the world?
As rich as can be?
Experimental?
Full of promise?
A ghost?
On the A-List?
PEACE, LOVE & UNDERSTANDING
The theme for The Peace Project‘s 4th Annual Call for Artists is “Peace, Love & Understanding.”
This international juried art competition and exhibition connects peace-minded individuals everywhere in the pursuit of a better world that art can help create.
I wish to invite all the amazing artists and bloggers on WordPress to submit your vision of “Peace, Love & Understanding” to this art competition that I’ve been involved with since its inception in 2010.
AWARDS
Best of Show $1,000 Cash
Peace Maker Awards (2) $ 300 Cash
Color Awards (5) Art Set (valued at $200) compliments of Prismacolor
Inspiration Awards (7) 2013 Commemorative Peace Project Book
All awardees will also receive a copy of The Best of Elvis Costello, which includes his track (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Deadline for submissions is 2pm, USA Pacific Time, August 16th, 2013.
Open to all visual artists worldwide.
Artist must be a member of TheWhole9.com and have a completed profile. (There is no cost to become a member. Click http://www.thewhole9.com.)
Work must be two-dimensional and original work may be any medium.
Original canvas may be any size, however, submitted artwork must be cropped to square as all selected pieces will be printed and mounted (by The Whole 9) on 1 foot x 1 foot panels (approximately 30.5cm x 30.5cm) for the exhibition.
A short explanation of the artist’s vision about the piece must be included, along with a description of the medium.
150 submissions will be selected for inclusion in exhibition.
If selected, artist must be able to provide a high-quality, high-resolution file (minimum of 300 dpi) of image that will be printed and mounted on a panel.
Artists retain rights to submitted works, but grant The Whole 9 and The Peace Project rights to the digital reproduction of their submission(s) to include in The Peace Project’s traveling exhibition, commemorative book, and any other merchandise produced to raise funds for The Peace Project or promotion of The Peace Project. ALL proceeds from sales of artwork and merchandise will be used to transform lives through Peace Project initiatives.
SUBMISSION FEE
$10 per piece paid when piece is submitted online. Your submission will not be visible until the fee is paid.
There is no limit to the number of works that may be submitted.
More than one piece from an artist may be selected and included in the exhibit.
DEADLINES
Entries must be submitted online by 2pm Pacific Time, Friday, August 16th, 2013.
Notification of juried results will be announced by September 7th, 2013.
EMPOWERED PARTICIPATION
The Peace Project and The Whole 9 are conceived upon the philosophy of inclusion — encouraging people from all cultures, religions, and creative walks of life, to participate, connect, share resources, and help find solutions for a better world. We will gladly waive the fee for any artist (especially artists outside of North America) that wants to participate but is unable to do so because of the submission fee or because PayPal is not used in your country.
Please follow the submission instructions and when you get to the payment page, log out and send an email to thepeaceproject@thewhole9.com and we will post your submission.
Learn about what The Peace Project has accomplished with the help of artists worldwide by visiting http://www.thepeaceproject.com
PEACE TRAVELS
This exhibition will be unveiled on World Peace Day, September 21st at Affair of the Arts in Culver City, CA, and will then makes stops throughout the United States. Confirmed appearances include:
September 21st & 22nd — Affair of the Arts, Culver City, CA
October 3rd — Evening Reception, Landmark Arts Building, Chelsea, NY
October 5th — Open House, Landmark Arts Building, Chelsea, NY
October 12th — 29 Pieces, Dallas, TX
November 1st — Long Beach First Fridays (in conjunction with Gallery Expo), Long Beach, CA
November 23rd — The Whole 9 Gallery, Culver City, CA
Early 2014 — San Francisco, CA
Thank you and we look forward to receiving your artwork.
Peace and blessings,
Michele
