Tonight is the opening night of the “Ritual + Time Travel = Rebirth” exhibit, which will feature and combine artwork by Michael Platt and poems by his wife, Carol Beane.
Joseph Jordan, the director of the Stone Center and curator of this exhibition, said he sought out Platt and Beane because of their works’ focus on ritual and the way that rituals are present, particularly in African-American and diaspora communities.
He said the exhibit will give viewers a different way of looking at some of the everyday things they do in life.
“Activities are repeated over and over, and as they do that, they begin to have meaning, and once they have meaning, they can contribute to a rebirth — a rebirth of a spirit, rebirth of a people, rebirth of a place,” Jordan said.
Beane and Platt have a unique way of working together in that they don’t attempt to illustrate each other’s works when creating poetry or artwork to accompany the other’s piece.
“We usually don’t consult and don’t try and work on one piece together at the same time,” Beane said.
“He’ll do the image, and I’ll do the poem, and we’ll maybe go off and come back maybe a couple of times until it feels right for both of us.”
Platt said he would present an image to Beane, who would search for a poem that could accompany the piece nicely. Beane does the same by presenting Platt with a set of words.