“Word on the Block”
C. Lofty Bolling
August 12, 2022
In our workshop we are going to listen to polyrhythms, look at collages and write to sound and silence.
Source Material:
- “Music for 18 Musicians” by Steve Reich
- “The Block” by Romare Bearden
Pre-writing:
- When you look at art, want to focus in on not just color but hues and shades? The shades of shades between shades? Check out this workshop!
- Feel free to check out the auditory work of Steve Reich, really cool artist in that specific field.
Prompt: Start by playing the record “Music for 18 musicians” by Steve Reich. While that is playing we’re gonna check out “The Block” by Romare Bearden.
As the music plays scan the collage from left to right, take note of colors that stand out to you. Not just reds or blues and beyond magenta and periwinkles. Try to identify shades and hues of colors as the music plays in the background. Take about 10 minutes or so, to do this.
After you try your best to identify the shades and colors you see, take the colors that you’ve recognized and write them down.
C. Lofty Bolling
C. Lofty Bolling (they/them) is a black, queer, and southern poet who has recently relocated to Chicago in 2021 and have been writing poetry regularly since middle school, self publishing since their senior year of high school. Through their poetry they explore notions of identity formations, the quantum imagination, history, ontology and voodoo practices.
They have 6 self published works titled, Lofty (2019), The Aquarius’ Aquarium (2019), Blue and Orange (2020), Unloc’d (2021), Black Atlanteans (2021) and The Master’s House (2021) and additional individual poems published through Lupercalia Press, and Rigorous Press.