By Megan Sullivan
Staff Writer
Visual art and poetry often reflect each other using similar language, themes, and symbols to convey the same messages. “Floating Letters,” displays artwork that was created from and inspired by various poems written by those same artists.
“Floating Letters,” is a spacious exhibit that showcases a variety of interesting pieces that catch the viewer’s eye. The exhibit demonstrates well how poetry and visual art connect in an appealing and diverse way.
“Floating Letters,” is on display at the Manhattan Beach Art Center from February 11 to March 19 and displays modern drawings, paintings, and sculptures from Jamie Felton, John Mills, and Audrey Hope. The works from the three different artists are integrated throughout the exhibit which makes it diverse and interesting to view.
The exhibit also features various types of art from sculptures to paintings and even a piece displayed in the exhibit’s fountain, providing something for everyone who visits the exhibit. Although all of the art is modern, each piece stands out from the others. There are only 13 pieces on display but all are interesting and eye catching because they are so different and individualistic.
In addition to the variety of types of art, there is a variety of colors used in each of the pieces, which creates a bright and exciting tone throughout the gallery. One of the sculptures, “Crying Woman” created by Hope, is mounted onto a bright pink wall and is very attention grabbing. The bright colors are pleasing to the eye, and make each piece pop out.
The pieces all convey different themes and messages through the symbols the artists chose. For example, “Love Birds on 3rd Street,” by Felton, uses the contrast of light and dark colors to show the intensity of the emotions of the moment he captured while Hope uses light colors and fabrics in her sculpture, “Grey,” to give the illusion something important has occurred prior to the viewer arriving.
Along with variety of colors, there is also an array of materials used in the artwork. The sculptures created by Audrey Hope integrate sheets, wood, glitter, dirt, and glue in order to make unique formations. Felton and Mills use pencils, acrylics and oil based paints on canvas to personalize their pieces, which is refreshing. The exhibit has a large sample of different examples to view, showcasing how these various tools and materials can be used to make engaging and thought provoking art.
The works were created to compliment poems written by the same artists, but the exhibit does not provide these poems, which leaves the viewer unsure about the messages the pieces are conveying. The visual art is enjoyable on its own but the viewing experience would be enhanced if the poems were provided as well in order to understand the artist’s intentions more deeply.
Another flaw is that the exhibit is set up in such a way that all of the pieces look good together and do not clash, there is a lot of empty space. None of the paintings are large enough to cover a wall so there is a lot of white space left on the walls, giving the exhibit an incomplete feeling.
“Floating Letters,” is an impressive exhibit that utilizes various colors, tools, and artists to create a pleasing viewing exhibit. It features an assortment of artworks and all of the pieces are unique to the exhibit.
“Floating Letters,” will be at the Manhattan Beach Art Center until March 18th every Wednesday through Sunday. Admission is free and on March 9th will host a poetry reading that correlates with the pieces.
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