Using artistic license to communicate is not only more fun, but can also lead to in depth understanding of a concept. I recently came across a fascinating practice. One of my poet friends, Kemlyn, invited others to join her Haiku Me Haiku You activity. Haiku is a type of Japanese poetry. A practice in succinct expression, there are no wasted words. The most common haiku is a three line poem with a 5-7-5 syllable count. There are also some with a 3-5-3 count. With the Haiku Me Haiku You activity, each person responds to the previous haiku with their own haiku.
Here is a partial thread of haiku written by Kemlyn (from Singapore, living in USA), Lawin (from the Philippines) and myself (from the USA).
Linda - only son
left this earthly realm
soul flies free
Kemlyn - memories
smell taste touch longing
to see you
Linda - evidence
words dreams kisses hugs
you're still here
Kemlyn - death's a veil
pull it back listen
they are there
Lawin - no exit
just one more entrance
hey let's go
Kemlyn: take my hand
brother let us run
taste and see
Linda: butterflies
bird's call rainbows speak
my soul hears
Lawin: paradise
is just a check point
let's move on
Kemlyn: no passport
no visa money
no problem
Linda: border cross
dissolves former shell
life transcends
Kemlyn: borderline
cross fight with hopes of
better lives
It was an intriguing exercise to create responses in haiku form. Using fewer words means there is no room for fluff, we had to get to the point. Engaging with people with such diverse backgrounds from me was a big ah-ha. Their comparison of an immigrant’s crossing to a person’s passing from this life certainly gave me more nuances of meaning within each of these two types of crossing over.
Musical Artistic License
Here is another type of artistic license. Victor Borge was a master at taking classical music pieces and using them in his comedy routines. Whereas he did not personally interact with these other composers, he borrowed from them in this routine.
A License in Visual Arts
M. C. Escher’s lithograph, Waterfall, is a wonderful example of artistic response to another artist’s work. Roger Penrose was inspired by M. C.’s earlier works to create his Penrose Triangle. M. C. then used the Penrose Triangle to create Waterfall! The following link shows visuals of these. https://www.escherinhetpaleis.nl/escher-today/waterfall/?lang=en
All of the arts are quite valuable to make ties between our subconscious thoughts to our conscious thoughts. Utilizing the arts can build bridges of understanding between people as well. Just think how much different our world would be if meetings and classes were preceded by an artistic activity such as this haiku exercise!
For further exploration in the arts, check out some of these posts! CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING looks at problem solving with the eyes of an artist and the ears of a musician. EMPOWERED LIVING gives benefits derived from a visual arts background. ARTS AND SOCIETY – I is an enlightening interview with Dr. Kevin Shorner-Johnson regarding his work in music and cultures around the world.
