A Moving Portrait
This poetry video blends the poem, "A Moving Portrait," with the watercolor artwork video that inspired it, by Matvey Rezanov. "A Moving Portrait" was honored with the REELpoetry Film and Video Prompt Award at the 2021 REELpoetry International Poetry Film & Video Festival. The category was comprised of poems written in response to a Public Poetry contest.
A Moving Portrait
I dream of a new scene—a wash, a fresh start,
sky-lighted buildings, softly falling shadows,
lines, lines, more lines—that’s city life, right?
Windows, windows—what’s behind the panes
of all the many windows of this creative,
quirky, lonely, quickly growing city’s soul?
I figure myself in a room—a featureless feature,
a blank slate, taking shape as I paint my eyes, my lips,
and add some new dimensions to my quiet character…
Growing wild in the city, blending into the city,
disappearing in the city, all alone in the city,
burnt out—I find a letter from my old self:
“Hi. Remember me? Are you still painting?
Still painting yourself into corners? Hope you’re not
disappearing again, all alone, forever lost in your art…”
~ by Linda Eve Diamond
About "A Moving Portrait": This poetry video began with a Public Poetry ekphrastic contest that invited responses to short videos. Out of five prompts, I fell in love with this flowing watercolor video by Matvey Rezanov and the poem seemed to write itself. When this was among the poems selected for inclusion in the REELpoetry Festival, I received a set of musical options and an invitation to record and make production decisions (such as the timing of voice and music). As the contest is open to all, regardless of technical abilities, this was done through a form and email interactions with Sarah Tremlett, who created the final video, blending the video with my recording and the music, brining the video to life based on my musical and timing selections.
What a thrill to have connected with Sarah Tremlett and to have my writing connected with the magnificent artwork of Matvey Rezanov! Find more about Sarah Tremlett and her book, The Poetics of Poetry Film, at www.SarahTremlett.com and www.LiberatedWords.com. Find more of Matvey Rezanov's inspiring artwork at www.MatveyRezanov.com. Also visit www.//SkazkaStudios.com to find more of his artwork videos. (They're set to music, so be sure to have your sound turned on.) :)
Find all three videos honored at the 2021 REELpoetry International Poetry Film & Video Festival here.
In 2023, A Moving Portrait was included in a Gallery Show at Sabine Street Studios, East Corridor Gallery, in Houston. The show, called LOCI: Varied Expressions of Line, included the video poem (my poem with animation arts by Matvey Rezanov (full video posted above), along with photographs, paintings, sculpture an more. The following photos, by Alex Barber, are from that exhibit.
