‘Echo[es]’ explores visual poetry, typewriter art

Text becomes image through visual poetry and typewriter art in “Echo[es]: traces in a grid,” a series of public lectures and hands-on workshops being held this month through May in the UB Art Gallery in the Center for the Arts.

The endpoint of the project, led by Diego Espíritu, a poet, writer and PhD student in Spanish literature at UB, is a “living wall” installation in May in the CFA Second-Floor Gallery. The installation will feature contributions from the public workshops, as well as work gathered through a “postal exchange” — a curated group of invited artists from around the world who will make and mail in work for the project.

Espíritu says the project aligns with the current CFA Gallery exhibition “Martha Jackson in Paris” and “Robert Creeley: Active Complement,” opening in the gallery on March 26.

“Martha Jackson’s curatorial work was built through correspondence and international networks,” Espíritu explains, “so ‘Echo[es]’ activates that history via archive materials and the postal route, while Creeley helps frame the project’s focus on language.”

Anna Wager, curator of exhibitions for the UB Art Galleries, notes that ‘Echo[es]’ “demonstrates the vibrancy of networks: Martha Jackson and the artists she worked with, Robert Creeley and his artist collaborators, and those creative friendships and partnerships that participants have cultivated across regions and media.”

“We are excited to be working with Diego on this project, and are looking forward to seeing what collaborations emerge,” Wager says.

The public programs begin on March 4 with an introductory talk by Espíritu titled “Letters, Lines & Echoes: When Text Becomes Image.” Workshops will take place throughout March and April, and Espíritu will discuss “Typewriter Art” in another lecture on April 8. A full schedule can be found on the program’s website.

“I’m so excited to see months of work finally coming to life,” Espíritu says. “I can’t wait to connect with everyone attending the talks and workshops, and I’m especially looking forward to collaborating with Robin Lee Jordan on one of the visual poetry workshops.

“Working with the UB Galleries team has also been a fantastic experience.”