| Poetry and Stone at the Lab |
| Local News | |
| Written by Ken Hamel | |
| Sunday, 30 December 2007 | |
 Manual Labors at the Lab - Photos by Ken Hamel/DenverArts.org Here are some pictures from the excellent "Manual Labors" exhibit on the "Poop Deck" of the Lab at Belmar. The deck is an area on the other side of the more conventional gallery that features couches and (but of course) a shuffleboard setup. The show highlights the manuscripts of 32 national poets alongside the instrument they used to write the poem and "manos," traditional grinding stones from the southwest. Click here for the pics and press release for the exhibit... (Update: the show was scheduled to close at the end of 2007 but it has been extended for a few more months into 2008.)     photos by Ken Hamel/DenverArts.org THIRTY-FIVE POETS FROM ACROSS THE NATION ARE COMMSSIONED FOR A NEW EXHIBITION AT THE LAB AT BELMAR Poems Will Premiere in Exhibition Incorporating Archaeological Artifacts Lakewood, CO, October 12, 2007-The Laboratory of Art and Ideas at Belmar will present an interdisciplinary exhibition this fall that pairs contemporary poetry with historical stone tools. Manual Labors features the work of 35 accomplished poets from across the country alongside manos, the palm-sized grinding stones once used to grind grain in the southwest regions of Colorado. The Lab at Belmar's affiliate curator Jake Adam York invited each writer to compose a poem about an individual stone, and their resulting manuscripts will be displayed beside both the manos that occasioned them and the pens that served them. By aligning intellectual labor with its physical counterpart, the exhibition encourages dialogue between language and form, as well as collaboration between contemporary artists and historical artifacts. The exhibition premieres on October 19, 2007 and will be on view through December 30, 2007.  "Manual Labors reveals the connections between physical work in the traditional sense and the act of putting pen to paper," said Adam Lerner, founder and executive director of The Lab. "In a way, these rocks are poems themselves-neat packages of human labor. Visitors can discover associations between disparate ideas and eras by recognizing similarities between manos and manuscript. The Lab is always looking for new ways to compare art and the everyday, and to involve our visitors as actively as possible." Jake Adam York adds, "It's important to consider Manual Labors as a recovery project. We have these stones, produced by hands that no longer exist-hands for which even names no longer exist. I've asked the poets-chosen for diversity of style, accomplishment, and experience-to recover through their handwriting some sense of the handiwork that shaped the manos and to produce, in their poems, labor that can stand with the ghost of the labor that cannot be recovered." The manos are on loan from the Lakewood Heritage Center. Once shaped by Native Americans as they labored to meet daily necessities, and then ordered by the accession numbers inked onto their surfaces, the manos are now catalogued by the lines and paragraphs of their companion poems. Among the contributors are: Noah Eli Gordon, National Poetry Series Winner; Maurice Manning, 2000 Yale Series of Younger Poets Winner; Janet McAdams, 2001 American Book Award Winner; Bin Ramke, 1978 Yale Series of Younger Poets Winner; and Chris Ransick, Denver's Poet Laureate. The complete list of participants is: • Aaron Abeyta • Aaron Anstett • Anne Boyer • Albino Carrillo • Amy Carroll • Daniel Donaghy • Katie Ford • Gina Franco • Forrest Gander • Noah Eli Gordon • Kate Greenstreet • Tim Hernandez • Major Jackson • David Keplinger • Sheryl Luna • Maurice Manning • Janet McAdams • Maria Melendez • Veronica Patterson • Lia Purpura • Bin Ramke • Chris Ransick • Paisley Rekdal • John Michael Rivera • Elizabeth Robinson • Mary Szybist • Connie Voisine • Karen Volkman • G. C. Waldrep • Wendy Walters • Joshua Marie Wilkinson • Catherine Wing • Jake Adam York About The Lab The Laboratory of Art and Ideas at Belmar is an institution dedicated to art and thought which combines elements of museum, think tank, and public forum. To date, The Lab has presented solo exhibitions from international contemporary artists such as Liam Gillick, Isaac Julien, Fang Lijun and Melanie Smith, among others. In its dual role as a gallery and a community space, The Lab also presents experimental public programs including lectures, film screenings, performances, and more. Initiatives range from "Mixed Taste: Tag Team Lectures on Unrelated Topics," (recent pairings have included capoeira and Le Corbusier, and Swiss typography and television theme songs) to "Rock Your Mind (Your Ass will Follow)," a series combining rock concerts with academic lectures. The Lab is also host to a new Latino arts and culture center, El Laboratorio: Thinking en Público. Launched in 2004 out of a Belmar storefront, the Lab began as a collaboration between Continuum Partners and the Denver Art Museum, where Lab director Adam Lerner was formerly Master Teacher for Modern and Contemporary Art. Lerner and Lewis Sharp, Director of the Denver Art Museum, worked together to develop The Lab as a center for experimental programming that goes beyond the traditional art museum or gallery. In 2006 The Lab moved to its new 11,500 square-foot facility designed by Belzberg Architects. Today, The Lab is the cultural anchor of the Belmar District, a 104-acre, mixed-use development located in Lakewood Colorado. The Laboratory of Art and Ideas at Belmar is located at 404 S. Upham Street in Lakewood. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 12 to 8 pm, and Sunday 12 to 5 pm. Admission to the Lab is a suggested $3 donation, Lab members are admitted for free. The admission price to programs at The Lab varies according to the program. For general information, please visit www.belmarlab.org, call (303) 934-1777 or write This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . |
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