"may i be i'" don't try to understand it - solo show by Karen Johnston of art quilts and other textile works inspired by the poetry and life of e.e.cummings.

Welcome to this exhibition which has been inspired by the life and creative works of Edward Estlin Cummings (also known as E.E. Cummings or ee cummings) an American painter, poet and writer. He was born in Massachusetts in 1894 and died in New Hampshire in1962.

I read my first cummings poems in the early 1970’s.  Like many other people, I could really only make sense of or “understand” some of what I read but found something intriguing about the poems.  Cummings prioritises “emotion over reason”.

Four decades on, I began to create textile pieces which related to the poems and to understand more (but sometimes also less!). I also began researching more about his life and background.

Cummings is known for his non-conformist use of language, grammar and spelling. Much of his work has unique syntax and he uses lower-case spelling for poetic expression. He implores the reader “don’t try to understand it, let it understand you” and so it is with this exhibition. Any ‘irregularities’ in spelling, grammar or layout are intentional.

Some pieces were inspired by a line or an image in a poem or the typography – lines printed on the page in unusual ways.   Other pieces reflect what was happening in cummings’ personal life or give a glimpse into contemporary events in world history – always through his eyes.

In preparing my work, I researched topics as diverse as the American Field Service Ambulance Corps (with which cummings served during WW1) early 20^th century international and American politics, social attitudes prevalent in 1920’s America, the flora and fauna of the northeastern United States and the status of French and English prostitutes during the first World War.  An eclectic and unusual mix, some pieces reflect these topics while others remain in my sketchbook – until next time.

Cummings’ poems fall into different themes.  These include nature, spirituality and religion, reflections on humanity, the impact of war and his disdain for things political. His words are often quoted as inspiration and extracts from his love poems are sometimes included in wedding ceremonies.