My Visual Representation for Project #1 is a visual reproduction and representation of the poem I Saw in Louisiana a Live-Oak Growing in the Calamus section of the book Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. This poem recalls an encounter Whitman had with a Live-Oak tree in Louisiana. He points out how it was so happy despite being alone. He then states how he sees himself in the tree, but that he could not be happy like the tree. Whitman found a deep curiosity in the Live-Oak. He brought home it’s branch to remind him of the trees circumstance of loneliness. He couldn’t be like the tree because he couldn’t imagine or live life without a friend or a lover near.
The first step in creating my artist’s statement is explaining why I chose this poem. I plan to organize this part of my artist’s statement after my explanation of why I represented the poem the way I did (in the paragraph following this). I feel as if that it would be better if I first explained what the picture meant, followed by why I chose this poem. I chose this poem because I felt a personal connection with it, for I have family in Louisiana. Also, I felt as if I had a better visual picture of the poem as I was reading it because I, unlike some people, have seen Live-Oak trees in Louisiana covered in moss. As a result of this, I was (1)drawn into the poem from start to finish and (2) able to mentally picture Whitman’s descriptions clearly. The second reason I picked this poem is that it made me think about life lessons and how to be thankful despite what you find unlucky about your life. I say this because Whitman mentions how the Louisiana Live-Oak was all alone, yet its leaves that
clung to the tree showed nothing but happiness. This is an example of comparing and contrasting circumstance, almost like the comments your parents made to you as a kid: “Sandy made an A on that quiz. Why didn’t you?”
In the poems case, the tree was all alone, yet it’s leaves were cheerful and happy to be alive. Whitman reminds himself of the tree’s circumstance by a branch from the tree placed in his room. Although it would seem Whitman would learn from the tree, he mentions multiple times that he could not do as the tree has done. Originally, I thought this poem was going to be about learning from the tree. Instead, Whitman strangely found the need to make a poem about the Live-Oak and found no consideration from the lesson he thoroughly understands. It’s fascinating Whitman found curiosity in the trees circumstance, despite his confession of their similarities. It reveals his denial of independence.
The second part of my artist’s statement, the explanation of why I chose to represent the poem in the way and medium I selected, will be the first paragraph following my introduction of what poem I chose. My project’s artifact will be a drawing of the Louisiana Live-Oak Tree with strings of moss on its branches, Walt Whitman’s face as the trunk of the tree, and his beard spreading out to form the roots of the tree. Walt Whitman as the tree trunk refers to his comparison of himself to the tree. As for the background, I may make it black, grey, rainy-day look, or a black-and-white, smoke-filled look. Any of these options for a
background develop the loneliness and solitary from the poem. I want to make Whitman’s face look unhappy or like he is pouting. The tree may still be happy, but he is not. The top of the tree will be bright and continue to fade and become progressively foggy down the tree. These shades will showcase the trees joyful and not-so-joyful traits. I have thought about including an empty black bench in the side foreground to represent loneliness. I will be using the above pictures of the Live-Oak tree and Walt Whitman for inspiration on how to put this artifact together. To create this artifact, I plan on drawing on paper with a sharpie and colored pencil.
When I complete the project, I will be able to answer the third part of my artist’s statement, the success of the project. I plan on placing this at the end of my artist’s statement and paper.
*As for the paper in general, I plan on going farther in depth into all parts of the artist’s statement.*