Received from Cheryl Penn, South Africa--Dangerous Haptic Photograph

[Bifidus Jones]

A dangerous photograph

never lies

put on your

Poems that draw blood

This is not a poem

it is haptic

when words refuse

to stay they leave

Ouch! I believe it was Franz Kafka who said we ought to read only books that bite and sting us. Do we sometimes need mail art that makes up yelp once in while too? Keep us awake? Years ago when I was taking a sculpture class, I remember my professor once saying, if what you're making can be described as cute, it ain't art. Hence, my fondness for this piece Cheryl sent. I mean, dang. Just looking at it makes people want to run and find their medical records to see if their tetanus shot is up-to-date. I'm fascinated by the figure who has donned so much armor (isn't armed armor redundant?) that it has left the figure trapped, "pinned down", and immobile. The figure has been motionless for so long, a spider has taken up residency, sitting on the face in an unbecoming squat. Nothing cute here and I love it. Receiving this piece stung me and woke me up. I'm curious about the soft letters and the perfume though. Are they supposed to be a ploy to cover up what lies within, or an addition to balance the pins and stabby stuff? I'll be revisiting this mail art for a long time. Thanks, Cheryl (and thanks too for the bandage).

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

Staples sting...spider, too? Wow...gone are the kitty cats and the soft threads! But then again, Cheryl adds that "seductive fragrance" to the dangerous photograph. Amazing contrast indeed! This is Haptic.

[Marie Wintzer]

Once again I'm speechless, what could I say, I agree with DVS, totalement oh mon dieu.

[De Villo Sloan]

This piece offers numerous possibilities for people thinking about doing haptic work. I like the tags, especially. "When words refuse/ to stay they leave" - you know I'm going to like that one - and having those phrases attached you can re-arrange to say different things. This piece is very much a poem, I think. Including a bandage with it - another great artist already did that - I don't think the original can be duplicated on that front :) Oh, and I really like the fact you are clearly not supposed to eat this.

[cheryl penn]

Thanks Bifidus - dare I quote??
"Words move, music moves
Only in time; but that which is only living
Can only die. Words, after speech, reach
Into the silence. Only by the form, the pattern,
Can words or music reach
The stillness"
T.S. Elliot

[De Villo Sloan]

Perhaps small steps for Bifidus and Cheryl - a giant leap for haptic poetry. Tremendous art and language to describe it. Breakthrough stuff. Totally, wow, OMG, etc.