Central Questions:

Central Questions:                              Artists Among Poets                                    E. Dannielle Slaughter

~Do period terms, such as "Surrealists" or "Modernism," mean the same thing in literature and the visual arts?

The surrealists and modernist poets were dealing with the same variables culturally as the visual artists were during those time periods. Therefore there were many over lapping processes and conceptual ideas when making the visual and written artwork. For my understanding, I look at it as the time period as provoking a certain response rather than the mediums that were chosen to realize those concepts.

~Can one usefully apply terms developed to describe technique, such as "texture," "structure," or "narrative," in one art to another art form or medium?

Of course, for example texture in a painting refers to the surface quality, the texture can be rough or handled delicately and everywhere in between. In the written medium, texture refers to the language and the pauses that happen during the structure of the work. Breaks in the page, lines and words that make you pause awkwardly or hesitate when reading could be considered rough. It could refer to the visual image that the words are building. And the same works for structure and narrative. Structure refers to the craft and rules set up for the final piece, its functionality. Narratives can happen visually or with symbols as letters that create words; narrative is really just a structure that acknowledges the linear within the work, whether accepting or dismissing it.

~How do images, symbols, and motifs work differently in visual and verbal arts?

I don’t believe that they do work differently. I think that poets are artists who are defined by a medium: language.  I think that if you were to verbally describe a poem and a sculpture without talking about medium, and solely talking about content, mood, point of view, texture, structure, rhythm, intent, motivation, etc. then you would not know whether it were a poem or a sculpture.

For example, try this while comparing (verbally and without mention of medium) “A Girl” by Ezra Pound and “Clothespin, Philadelphia” by Claes Oldenburg.

       ~How do twentieth century multimedia art forms differ from twenty-first-century ones?

The collective definition of art from my generation: Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music, literature, film, photography, sculpture, and paintings. The meaning of art is explored in a branch of philosophy known as aesthetics, and even disciplines such as history and psychology analyze its relationship with humans and generations.

Traditionally, the term art was used to refer to any skill or mastery. This conception changed during the Romantic period, when art came to be seen as "a special faculty of the human mind to be classified with religion and science". Generally, art is made with the intention of stimulating thoughts and emotions. The possibilities are endless with advancements in technology but a structure and intent still defines.