Would you like to have you poetry exhibited alongside the work of one of Lichfield’s greatest poets?

On the 27th February Artists Andy McKeown and Peter Walker will be creating a stunning spectacle by projecting the full version of Erasmus Darwin’s masterpiece – The Botanical Garden, onto the side of his former home within the City. The text of the poem, will be shown as a unique textStream animation projection artwork.

Alongside this, Lichfield poets of today are to be given the opportunity to have their work projected onto the side of Darwin House, alongside the poet work of the House’s former resident.

Anyone wishing to have their work included in the project should contact the artists directly. “This is a great opportunity to have your own poetry seen by a new audience, and an opportunity to continue the great legacy of Lichfield’s famous poets”, Peter Walker. “It doesn’t matter at what level you write, or what age you are, we will include your work in the project”.

There are two ways to get involved, either forward a short poetic work (no more than ten lines) on the subject of Lichfield, botany, nature, science, or Erasmus himself and your work will be included in the project. Alternatively contact the artists if you would like to input your own poem on the evening of the event. It is suggested that you contact the artist team in advance to assure your involvement. The text of your poem will not be shown as a conventional poem is seen on a page but as a part of a unique textStream animation artwork, and will appear as a part of a collection of live poetic works.

Erasmus Darwin House will feature the large-scale artwork for one evening only between 6-9pm on the 27th February. Residents may have seen the work of Andy and Peter during last year Son et Lumiere, as both artists were the lead artists in the Johnson at 300 production. The is a smaller and more intimate look at another of the cities most significant former residents, and represents another aspect of the continued 52 Weeks of Art Project currently being run in the city.

If you would like to be apart of this unique project or for more information contact info@52weeksofart.com

Origins – textStream animation from the full text of Darwin’s Origin of Species – Andy McKeown November 24 2009 – light installation onto Quantum Leap – Mardol Quay Shrewsbury

Saturday August 15th saw the second and final summer open day for involvement in the Son et Lumiere event. Held at the Guildroom in the city centre the day saw the project artists on hand to discuss the project and offer opportunities to become involved in the artwork production.
125 people attended on the day, joining in adding their faces to the Wordplay Project, alongside helping in the production of the interactive artwork which will feature on the Market Street facade of the Johnson Birthplace Museum. The event also saw Louise Morgan, a young artist from Lichfield taking the opportunity to join the artists and become part of the team for the production of the event.
Saturday also saw the final light test for the September Event, with passers by treated to a sneak preview of the visuals for the event.

Artist Andy Mckeown and Composer David Harper outside the Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum, the backdrop for the Son et Lumiere in September.

Screen shot from Wordplay - a collection of the faces of the people of Lichfield

Sample view of the interactive artwork which will feature during the Son et Lumiere event on the 18&19th of September.

This striking image in the style of Andy Warhol is the second of the poster series, which will be appearing in Lichfield soon. The pop art depiction of Samuel Johnson sits comfortably with the way in which Warhol reinvented the way in which we look at the subject establishing contemporary iconic images, and is similar in appearance to the mid-20th century iconic silkscreen paintings he produced, from soup cans to the celebrity of Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe.

The image has been produced by Andy Mckeown

To find out more about Andy Warhol please click here. (This is an external site not affiliated to 52 weeks of art).

The first design for a series of 26 public art posters to be sited around Lichfield has been revealed. The poster series will highlight an A-Z history of art in the 20th Century through depicting some of the most significant movements, artists and artworks produced, but with a twist. Each piece being reworked to have a link to Lichfield itself.

The first poster links to one of the centuries most important figures - Joseph Kosuth, who is regarded as one of the first conceptual artists. The poster, is literally a definition of the word poster, which echos the early work of Kosuth. Through the use of the definition of a words various incarnations, the artwork itself if formed, depicting a conceptual picture of what a specific word is.

The choice of a work relating to the legacy of Kosuth as a the first image of the series has been chosen as it is an obvious link to the history of the city and its most famous son Samuel Johnson, whose use of illustrative poetic quotations helped inform the manner in which he approached the construction of his Dictionary of the English Language.

To find out more about Kosuth please click here. (This is an external site not affiliated to 52 weeks of art).

The Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum opened its door for the general public to get involved in the creation of artwork for the September Samuel Johnson Tercentenary Son et Lumiere. Over 140 people came to the museum on Saturday the 25th July. Artists Peter Walker, Andy McKeown and David Harper were on hand to help individuals contribute to the project in a number of ways. Another 50 people added their faces to the increasing collection of face of lichfield for a project called Wordplay which will be previewed on the Son et Lumiere weekend. Approximately 1000 faces of people from in and around the city have already been collected. Composer and sound artist David Harper invited people to contribute poems, phrases and word definitions towards aspects of the sound for the September event.

Andy McKeown also revealed for the first time a fantastic interactive projection artwork which will be featured on the 18th and 19th. The work allows individuals to contribute to an interactive collection of words and definitions which will form a constant stream of visual text on the Market Street facade of the Birthplace.

Bring along your own word and definition on the 18th and you can join in this expanding artwork - developing Lichfields own dictionary for 2009 live on Johnsons 300th Birthday. The event begins at around 7.30pm on both the 18th and 19th of September. More information soon.