Living inside an insane asylum is just one of the many ominous moments depicted in Dark Poets.
“Some artists are drawn to dark work because of their own angst or inner demons, they feel compelled to purge themselves through their art,” said Curator Mernet Larsen. “While others are interested in it because it?s part of reality and it?s fascinating for some reason. And some other artists are drawn to dark works because they care deeply or empathize with others? sadness.”
Larsen?s initial goal was to gather often secluded, introverted and anti-establishment artists who dealt with morbid themes but whose art never reached viewers? eyes. However, on further thought, she added to the exhibit artists who have gained national and international recognition to make a point, she said. “You don?t have to be reclusive to deal with dark content.”
Death, insanity, cruelty and war cover Dark Poets walls in the form of ink and charcoal drawings, digital images, pastels, animated films and a 15-foot painting. The works range from melancholy to black humor.
In her meticulous charcoal drawings of dreamlike images and labyrinth-like spaces, exhibiting artist Charlotte Schulz takes viewers through one trying year in her late 30s while adjusting to Boston, after a divorce and uprooting her life in Florida.
“The experience of being deeply estranged from an environment where I built a life was uncomfortable, unsettling and lonely, but at the same time it created a deeply inward experience for me,” Schulz said from her New York studio where she moved after a short stay in Boston and Brooklyn.
In addition to private memories, Schulz?s weaves into her drawings imagery from world events such as Sept. 11 and the Iraq war. Like many Dark Poet artists, Schulz uses poetry and prose as a springboard for her imagination. “My creative processes grow out of the ideas that I?m reading about such as metaphysics from 17th century German philosopher Leivic.”
Larsen said she sees similarities between Dark Poet artists and Edgar Allan Poe, the quintessential and original dark poet buried in Baltimore. “Poe himself in some ways was a rather dark character, but very rational and logical. He was educated, intelligent and informed ? also true of all the artists in the show.”
IF YOU GO
Dark Poets
Where: Maryland Institute College of Art, 1300 Mount Royal Ave., Baltimore
When: Jan. 31 through March 9, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday; Lecture 3 to 5 p.m. Jan. 31; Reception 5 to 7 p.m. Jan. 31
Cost: Free
Info: 410-225-2300
