Sol Lewitt’s Double Pyramid
Whitney Museum Restaurant, 12.23.00
The other side of
the picture window,
its light borrowed from
above where the stone
blocks at street level
rest adjacent to
a hot dog wagon,
telephone booths and
people on their way
through the winter haze —
we hold whatever
glow there is, the clink
of dishes cutting
across the waves of
conversation, a
reprieve against the
dazzling colors on
the gallery walls.
How incredibly
lucky art is, its
shining like the sun,
undaunted – and we,
too, from below the
summit, in our odd
ways make it come true.
from Somehow by Burt Kimmelman
(Marsh Hawk Press, New York, 2005)
Burt Kimmelman agreed to have Double Pyramid grace the pages of our blog. It's a beautiful poem as are all of his in his collection Somehow. Double Pyramid moves from the image of Lewitt's sculpture that sat outside the Whitney cafe to his thoughts on life and art. Sol Lewitt was probably quite pleased to have had this poem written (see Sentence 20 in yesterday's comment -- Successful art changes our understanding of the conventions by altering our perceptions.) Mr. Kimmelman's poem moves from line to line, five syllables at a time, a cadence you could use to climb one pyramid, descend and climb the next.
Here's a street view of the Whitney for all of us to enjoy.
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