Poetry: Making the Familiar Unfamiliar
Scrittura’s Poetry Prompt for July
You see things in the image that are recognizable, but juxtaposed with elements that startle, disturb or disorient you. Notice how you’re drawn in to trying to resolve the contradictions, identify what’s got you so unsettled. Whether you resolve that contradiction or not, you’ve had an experience — an experience that stays with you. An experience called art.
When you look
in the mirror, I wonder
how you fail to notice —
one edge, askew, curling away
like the arc of a question mark
from the narrative of
its own interrogation
In considering either the image above or the poem excerpt, this tension of opposites causes you to examine them more closely — making it harder to look away.
The Power of Juxtaposition in Art
Visual artists apply juxtaposition frequently — especially artists working within styles such as surrealism or abstract art. In the image above by J. R. Korpa, the recognizable figure of a man is duplicated, repeated, overlapped in a disturbing manner that makes me think of multiple personalities, hallucinations, or, more uncomfortably…
