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Thursday, October 18, 2012

Cut a Visceral track



His wicked Grin

Van Gogh’s ear
Was a wicked place
So wicked indeed
He    had    to    sever    it
Right from his face
To this very day
Lucky for us the
Voices went away
Just then because
His wicked Grin
Would be where he
Would have started
Again….

Chris McQueeney   10/18/12   12:54 P.M.

I have yet to meet or study an artist that isn’t in some way a tortured soul. Maybe the transition through that inner turmoil brings the art, or just thins the bullshit layered on top of it. Vincent Van Gogh is one of my favorite painters, and his inner demons are legendary! The story surrounding his severed ear are many…and they don’t matter that much to me. What matters to me is that his inner turmoil brought some of the world’s most beautiful art to life. In his short 37 years of life Van Gogh produced thousands of paintings and prints and drawings…what a treasure trove of work. 
Today I turn 35, and I thought it was appropriate that d’Verse wanted a verse about a dead man…at least that was what I read from the second option. Van Gogh’s tragic end was a spiral that started long before his death, but it sped up in the last two years of his life.
So, I propose to you that you bring forth your crazy, revel in it, and produce something beautiful! Change the world with your soul. Love us with your demons. Cut a visceral track across us with your art..


Mine Art



 I inflict my soul on you
As often as I can.
I tear wide my chest for you
See my torn heart.
Count the beats.
See the stutter start stop
My life flowing in those constricted confines.
Breathe my muse with me
Exhale long in relief
Surviving
Her tender embrace.
For her teeth are sharp
And bite she will.
But oh the beauty
She sees through my eyes.
And oh the words
She pushes through my fingers.


Chris McQueeney   10/18/12   1:48 P.M











19 comments:

Brian Miller said...

hey great pic of you man...how is your health?

artists are def tortured souls....we see things others dont always and in great depth that takes the worlds scars upon us...

van gogh def...can you imagine what would drive you to cut your ear off...

and each day we lay a bit of our soul out there to be stepped on or...loved.

Mary said...

I am glad Van Gogh painted too... I think you are right that a lot of creative people also have their dark sides; but without them perhaps their work would not be as great. And....happy birthday!

Anonymous said...

Van Gogh always a favorite,
your write is also expressive
like a tormented soul. Enjoyed reading here.

christopher said...

When I have a terrible need of -- shall I say the word -- religion, then I go out and paint the stars. - Vincent van Gogh

Just this last July I wrote this in homage to a man who could cut off his own ear:

In The Wheat Field

Where I stand the sound
Echoes a copper hollow
I feel in my bones
and the shade of things
is ill defined in the hum
this brier tangle
offers me as truth.
Where I kneel the keen reedy
whine of a tight wire
slices through silence
with a ruby laser blade,
no lie. Divided,
I fall at your feet
in halves of love, twinned and drained,
my boast before you.

July 18, 2012 8:49 AM

Daydreamertoo said...

I think anyone who is a writer/artist or of the arts, suffers for their art. We poets are notorious too for either being high on love or, dying from its broken heart. I think we have to be (in some ways) selfish to focus our thoughts on those emotions which others may well just blink an eye at, yet we artists feel such angst if we can't express it someway or another. Perhaps Vincent was so frustrated he could think of no other way to show it than slicing the bottom of his ear off.
Your poem expresses that feeling of frustration so well.

Unknown said...

Oh my freaking heck! The notion of slicing through the grin is SO discomforting. In that short poem you made me sit up and really pay attention!

http://www.kimnelsonwrites.com/2012/10/18/her-the-steampunk-version/

Victoria said...

VanGogh is at the top of my favorite artist lists and his story touches me so deeply. Perhaps there is an element of identification with his creative craziness that calls to me. I'm so glad you shared this, Chris.

Victoria said...

By the way, Happy Birthday!!!!

kj said...

i am just saying this for now:

oh nice to see you back!

that first poem: fab (comment to come)

you are a nice looking guy :^)

p.s. are you back?
xo
kj

Claudia said...

a few weeks ago i was in amsterdam and visited the van gogh museum, became a bit familiar with his art and story.. artists...what makes them so creative in such depth is always what makes them /us...so vulnerable as well..felt piece..

Wine and Words said...

Happy Birthday Handsome! I LOVED Mine Art. I'm going to print it out for my poetry wall! Welcome to the board Chris! Hey...I vote turmoil thins the bullshit. Just my opinion.

Sabio Lantz said...

Interesting twist on the ear.
The dark side of creativity for many is sad.

Kathy Reed said...

Kirk Douglas did an excellent job interpreting Van Gogh's fears..you did an excellent job of pointing out pain he had to let out somehow..

Anonymous said...

Clean and clear - love it

Anonymous said...

Hope its not too late to wish you a happy birthday!! :)

I read an article when I was much younger about the tortured soul of the true artist. I remember Van Gogh and Pollock being mentioned... I realised how much I could relate to both men... Gladly, today I use their story to calm my own demons.
Wonderful 2nd piece you have there as well. :)

Ben Ditty said...

One of my favorite artists! Great tribute :-)

just a girl said...

happy belated birthday chris!

loved the symmetry here. love your words. love the pic. oh hell! just love your blog!

Unspoken said...

HEY YOU! Happy Birthday to you. I am singing you a little song, mainly I am glad you made it all the way here. It's been a long way, huh?

I love, love the poem. Take it down and submit it. My 2 cents.

You should smile :). No smiling? It's your birthday!

Unspoken said...

Is that PDX PD??? Looks familiar. Can't place it.