Faculty of Art
Cross-Disciplinary Art: Publications
Leah Benetti
The Precariousness of Space/ The Room without a view
Installation
2020
Typewriter, found objects such as ladder and filing cabinet, glass, plexiglass, polaroid photographic prints
5ft x 10 ft
In an attempt to solve the issue of having a lack of creative space to call my own, I rented a storage unit to create a makeshift office out of. My writing attempts to redefine the word "poet" as a verb: an action word. Moving the concept away from an identity and towards a practice which is more fluid than we initially give it credit for. The Storage Unit rental was made possible by the CEAD Career Launcher Fund in Spring 2020. ** I really apologize for the poor quality images, it was all I could upload to this portfolio. For better quality scans of this document please visit my website: https://leahbenetti.format.com/the-precariousness-of-space-and-the-art-of-poeting
“ABSTRACT: In times of precarious relationships with space, I ask the question, what are the basic elements needed to nourish my creativity? Writing is an art practice, and so is perceiving. We do not have control over many things, but we can turn experiences into opportunities to learn new feelings, to see things new. The word poet is a verb, and this is poeting. Half installation, half poetry, half academia, I explore my relationship to space around me thru bookworks and attempt to set the scene for the act of poeting. Part real and part dream, this project seek to reconstruct and deconstruct poems as space. I rented Unit 6122 in a self-storage building off campus as a solution to a lack of place available at the University in which to build a makeshift office for my creative work. The precarity was intensified the next month when things were locked down due to the global pandemic, and I found myself without ideal circumstances for refuge. Mental health is environmental, and so is the creative process. The Precariousness of Space & The Art of Poeting holds ideas from concrete poets, thinkers and various land-philosophies, and in its entirety (and with the uncertainty) is an offering to my own longing for a safe place to hold me. ”
Work by
Leah Benetti aka. pseudonym
Publication
“i am interested in the intersections of art and poetry, and after many years of practicing as a poet-for-hire i have come to understand ‘poet’ as a verb; an action word. ...” [More]