Study

by Yuko Otomo

Poetry. Art. STUDY is a collection of "poems on art" written from the 1980s to the present. They are born out of Otomo's "double" identity as both visual artist and poet/writer. Subjects include Giotto, Michelangelo, Picasso, Kandinsky, Max Beckmann, Louise Bourgeois, Joseph Beuys, Cy Twombly, Robert Frank, Ray Johnson, Bruce Nauman, James Castle, and Horace Pippin, along with lesser-known artist friends of Otomo including Hughes, Silv, O'Hara, and more. STUDY consists of 2 parts; Part Poem Cycles, and Part Rolled Up & Unframed/ Miscellaneous Poems on Art.

Genres: Poetry, Japanese Literature, Art

288 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2013

Reviews

[C Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first part of this book introduced me to Yoko's spare and artful phrasing and surprising visions of art and life in NYC and other cycles of life/nature. The second part of the book starts out poems from Yoko's CORNELL BOX POEMS and it's such a joy to read poems about art works/ artists that I love. I save this book to read and reread in spurts, so will revisit some of my personal faves (like Louise Bourgeois, Joseph Beuys, Cy Twombly, Ray Johnson), and will take more notice of artists that Yoko has brought my attention to. There are no illustrations in this book, as the poems are not specifically ekphrastic, instead the words themselves become the art.