{"id":23635,"date":"2025-02-06T14:54:24","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T21:54:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/immerse-yourself-voices-inside-my-head-combines-visual-art-poetry-augmented-reality\/"},"modified":"2025-02-06T21:54:24","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T21:54:24","slug":"immerse-yourself-voices-inside-my-head-combines-visual-art-poetry-augmented-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/immerse-yourself-voices-inside-my-head-combines-visual-art-poetry-augmented-reality\/","title":{"rendered":"Immerse yourself: \u2018Voices Inside My Head\u2019 combines visual art, poetry, augmented reality"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\u201cVoices
\u201cVoices Inside My Head\u201d is a new exhibit at Create Art & Tea that features artwork and augmented reality by Tad Smith and poetry by mostly local poets headed up by Larry Bourland. (Courtesy)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Visual art, poetry and augmented reality collide in a new exhibit at Create Art & Tea.<\/p>\n

The exhibit, \u201cVoices Inside My Head\u201d features paintings by artist Tad Smith (who is also manager of creative services for Ballantine Communications, which owns The Durango Herald<\/em>) and poems by mostly local poets, headed up by Larry Bourland.<\/p>\n

The exhibit officially opened last week but kicks off with an opening reception Friday at the gallery, and then is on display through Feb. 28<\/p>\n

The two began working together after Smith, whose interests lie in all things artistic, began attending Bourland\u2019s poetry open mics.<\/p>\n

\n

If you go<\/h4>\n

WHAT: <\/strong>\u201cVoices Inside My Head\u201d: Paintings by Tad Smith featuring poetry and augmented reality.<\/p>\n

WHEN: <\/strong>5-7 p.m. Friday, opening reception. On exhibit through Feb. 28.<\/p>\n

WHERE: <\/strong>Create Art & Tea, 1015 Main Ave.<\/p>\n

MORE INFORMATION: <\/strong>Visit tadsmithart.wordpress.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cTad approached me and said, \u2018I like what you\u2019re putting together.\u2019 It was an open mic I do once a month at Create Art & Tea, and I\u2019m very possessive about my poets; it\u2019s like a family. He says, \u2018Hey I like what you\u2019re putting together here; this is the project that I have, my portraits, would you be interest in wrangling some poets together for some poetry?\u201d Bourland said. \u201cI came across one of his portraits called \u2018The Mystic,\u2019 I fell in love with it. I said, \u2018I\u2019ll tell you what \u2013 I\u2019ll do it.\u2019 He goes, \u2018Unfortunately, \u2018The Mystic\u2019 is not part of the program.\u2019 So I started to walk away, and he goes, \u2018OK, OK.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Mystic\u201d had sold, and so Smith re-created it.<\/p>\n

And, Bourland said, getting poets to participate wasn\u2019t exactly a heavy lift: When he asked his group who would be interested, every hand flew up.<\/p>\n

The work on the show began about six months ago, the two said, and features 43 pieces of art, including paintings and three sculptures. The exhibit also uses mirrors.<\/p>\n

\n

Meet the poets<\/h4>\n

These are the poets who contributed to \u201cVoices Inside My Head\u201d:Burton E. BaldwinAnthony Tran BeadleBrandi BlaisdellLarry D. BourlandTom ChiltonVincent L.K. CorvusMonica DiBiasioRobert FreemanKlara GoldmanLawrence Blair GoralIsabelle GrantJeff HamnerRyley HubbardMarilyn KroekerNicole LawhonMarshall MagnusonDolores MazurkewiczMarty McCambridgeKen MillerWilliam Pitt RootKylie SheenKay SimpsonSpenser SnarrLisa C. TaylorNathan Van ArsdaleAlex VickZoey Yazzie<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe mirrors are very important in this because the mirror introduces the public to the exhibit, giving the public the chance to take a look at themselves and introduce them into Tad\u2019s imagination,\u201d Bourland said. \u201cAnd then the mirror exiting is, \u2018What did you learn about yourself?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Poet
Poet Larry Bourland, right, and artist Tad Smith have collaborated on a new multimedia exhibit, \u201cVoices Inside My Head,\u201d featuring poetry, augmented reality and visual art by Smith. (Courtesy)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The fun of the show isn\u2019t just the cool paintings and the poetry next to each. Along with those is an augmented-reality component: A QR code accompanies each painting\/poem pair, and when scanned, viewers can hear the poem being read by its creator. Also, the image itself comes to life, courtesy of an hourslong process Smith does for each with a handful of Adobe programs.<\/p>\n

Smith and Bourland have also turned the exhibit into a book, of which a limited number will be available at tonight\u2019s reception, they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe beauty of this particular project \u2018Voices Inside My Head\u2019 coming together is it\u2019s all metaphorical in that Tad has a lot of voices in his head, but we all do. You get up in the morning and think, \u2018I gotta go to work, I gotta do shopping \u2026\u2019 and those are all the voices in your head,\u201d Bourland said. \u201cWhat Tad has done is he has applied the image of those voices. And what I\u2019ve done is I\u2019ve gathered the voices by way of poets. And what they\u2019ve done is they\u2019ve put their voice to the portraits, which are Tad\u2019s voices inside his head. \u2026 We have world-renowned poets that are involved in this, published poets, and with the book being published, all 27 poets are now published poets. What an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

And for Smith, who hopes to take the show on the road after the exhibit closes at the end of the month, \u201cVoices\u201d \u2013 and art in general \u2013 should get viewers thinking and feeling and maybe even have them leave a show inspired.<\/p>\n

\"\u201cVoices
\u201cVoices Inside My Head\u201d is a new exhibit at Create Art & Tea that features artwork and augmented reality by Tad Smith and poetry by mostly local poets headed up by Larry Bourland. (Courtesy)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cWhenever I do my art, I try to engage the audience. I want interaction; I don\u2019t like art tending to be so passive,\u201d he said. \u201cI like people to engage with the QR code, read the poem \u2013 it\u2019s more than just a painting on the wall. \u2026 I think everybody\u2019s a poet; everybody\u2019s an artist, it\u2019s just maybe you\u2019re not a professional or whatever, but just give it a try.\u201d<\/p>\n

katie@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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