‘A Charlotte flair.’ Lines of poetry around the city are actually a Blumenthal exhibit

If you missed the scale model of Earth, hanging from the ceiling of Bank of America’s Founders Hall recently — and fleetingly — don’t worry. There’s plenty more public art in our midst, thanks to the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center and U.K. artist Luke Jerram.

In Greek mythology, Gaia is the personification of the Earth, and the recent exhibit, called “Gaia,” is Jerram’s gigantic ode to our planet. The 3-D, illuminated sculpture of Earth is nearly 23 feet in diameter. Each centimeter of the internally lit sculpture depicted more than 11 miles of the Earth’s surface.

The art installation that was on display in Charlotte from Sept. 10-Oct. 1 is touring around the world now. There’s something poetic about experiencing our planet in such a personal way. But there’s another Blumenthal art installation on view now that is literally poetry.

“Of Earth and Sky” was also conceived by Jerram, but the execution was entirely the Blumenthal’s — with help from local poets, musicians and writers. The Blumenthal refers to the lines of poetry sprinkled here and there as “tokens of inspiration and poetic reminders of hope.”

Charlotte is the first U.S. city to stage an “Of Earth and Sky” exhibition.

“It has a Charlotte flair to it,” said Bree Stallings, the Blumenthal’s director of artistic experiences. “Luke provided the guidelines and then let us go crazy with it.”

Charlotte community members created the trail of poetry snippets scattered throughout uptown. More than 200 poems were submitted, with the final selections — 46 in all — curated by Emmy Award–winning poet Boris “Bluz” Rogers, the Blumenthal’s director of creative engagement, and National Poetry Slam champions Jay Ward and Jordan Bailey.

You can find all 46 poems on view uptown through Oct. 31 by using the Blumenthal’s Google map.

Creating the exhibit

Poets and writers were invited to attend a writing workshop where they got writing prompts, although it wasn’t a prerequisite to enter a submission.

“They were given questions like, ‘What are some of your favorite memories?’ or ‘What strong emotional moments you have had in Charlotte?’ ” Stallings said.

Stallings figured there would be 20 poems chosen. But when the team reviewed the entries, they were drawn to more than twice that many.

“We were looking for an interesting cadence and something that could be taken out of context and played with,” Stallings said.

Stallings had the task of figuring out where each line of poetry would go. She said she meditated on it for three days. “I wanted these poems to be in conversation with the community and with the geography of these places.”

Haley McLaury Reitzel’s “we levitate like fiery phoenixes” was an obvious choice to be placed in front of the Firebird on the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art plaza.

Another line of poetry — “Frustration masked the real wound” by Jessica Bravo — called out to Stallings to be placed above the remnants of the Black Lives Matter mural.

“With the help of Charlotte Center City partners, we got it above the McCormick & Schmick’s sign. It’s like (the mural and the poem) are really in conversation with each other. I tried to be very intentional about where each poem is placed,” Stallings said.

Some poems are hard to miss. Others, you may have to look for.

A snippet of Matt Olin’s poem (“during her blessed reign”) is on the Blumenthal’s digital marquee in front of the Belk Theater.

But a line from Eboné Lockett’s poem — “We are Mother Earth’s clinicians” — is inside Founders Hall in front of Made in CLT project winner Kelly Zimmerman’s crocheted coral reef project. Made in CLT is a Blumenthal program meant to cultivate paid performances and installations tied to Charlotte SHOUT!, which was postponed to 2022 because of COVID-19.

A kiosk on Tryon Street contains the words of Bailey, Ward and Angelo Geter: “My South be candy paint and impalas, 808s on blast, like God tryna talk through the speakers.”

If you’re headed to a concert at Blumenthal’s Stage Door Theater, notice the poster kiosk facing 5th Street. Samantha Hennessey’s poem is perfect for the music venue: “I find myself contemplating letting this voice sing.”

And where else could Holly Blackman’s words, “With childlike faith, I crack its spine to find a world of wisdom,” have gone but on the side of the main library?

Performing arts and more

This may not be performing arts — what Blumenthal is known for — but President and CEO Tom Gabbard and his team have long taken an expansive view of art. From the hip-hop festival, “Breakin’ Convention” to Immersive Van Gogh to an invasion of giant inflatable bunnies, the Blumenthal is engaging the public in a variety of art forms.

Amid COVID-19, Stallings and the Blumenthal team have devised ways to allow people to safely incorporate art into our lives.

“It’s this opportunity for the public to kind of let their guard down and interact in a safe way,” she said. “It’s about getting people to connect with something … and feel that ownership and excitement about their city.”

They’re also dreaming up ideas such as having artists painting live at the theater. The Blumenthal offered opening night tickets to “Wicked” to artists Tiffonyé Wilkins, Gil Horne Jr. and Tajmah Allison. The next night, the artists returned to paint their impressions of the musical during a media reception. Their paintings hung in the lobby of Ovens Auditorium for the run of the show.

“A conversation has arisen from so many of the artists we’ve hired through Immersive Van Gogh,” Stallings said. “I’ve learned that many of them have never seen a theater show. I’d never been to a theater show until a couple of weeks ago. Now, I understand why people are really big into theater. I get it.

“Now we’re setting aside five pairs of tickets for artists to (attend Broadway Lights performances),” she said. “We’re trying to bridge that gap between our visual arts community and the theater community.”

Stallings also wants people to know that the pop-up art — like those lines of poetry — they see around town have been “very thoughtfully curated.”

“I hope people will get to know the artists behind all of it — connect with the poet through the video or read my curator comments on the website,” she added. “It’s months in the making for the random thing to pop up on your daily commute.”

‘The next big thing’

It may seem tough for an artist to create something fleeting — to work for months or years on something that’s only around for a couple of weeks. But Jerram actually likes working that way.

“Getting permission to do permanent artwork is really difficult because everything has to be done through committees for people to sign off on things,” he said. “I can get away with a lot more by making a temporary intervention in a space. It gives me more freedom to experiment.

“I try to create artwork that can be appreciated by different people at different levels,” he said. “So, if you’re a 4-year-old child, you’re going to really enjoy seeing the moon or the Earth, or playing one of my street pianos. If you’re a biologist, astronomer or environmental campaigner, you’ll enjoy looking at the Earth in a different way.”

With the “Of Earth and Sky” poetry trail, Jerram said he liked “leaving space for other people to be creative; it’s a sort of expression of local talent.

“That’s exactly as it should be,” he said. “I think arts organizations are there to serve the community. They can serve audiences in the city, but they also need to serve the artists of the city, as well. The local, homegrown talent — those are the ones who can grow up to be the next big thing.”

Of Earth and Sky

Where: Multiple sites around Charlotte.

When: Through Oct. 31.

Details: blumenthalarts.org/events/detail/of-earth-and-sky

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