 Linguist / Visual poet.P.H.M. Burgaud, born in France, lives in the Netherlands. After some years as a teacher, he began in 1992 to devote all of his time in art. He believes that poetry has to come out of the book and into daily life. His poems take various shapes and sizes. Each one consists of two parts. The first part is written using all kinds of tools: brush, pen, chalk, pencil, finger, charcoal, computer animation programms... The second part is “easy to read”. It is machine printed, most often in red. Burgaud’s experiences lead to a central focus: letters have a very strong poetical charge. The power of traditional poetry comes from meanings, sounds and rhythms. However, poems are pictures as well. By giving the letters an appropriate form, the words get a new dimension. Contemplating the signs, the reader is taken back to a forgotten time, the innocence of reading as a child. Furthermore, Burgaud became more and more interested in the materiality of poetry. Words are always on or in something. Color, shape, texture are not neutral but add their poetical sensibility to the poem. By a continuous exchange, the underlying meanings help one to understand the chosen materials and shapes, and these bring new associations to the text. This is why, for example, some of his works look like lamps: poetry lights the world. In his computer animations, he uses the machine not as a tool, but a new medium, with specific needs and approach. Giving poetry more power and a new power by giving the words reality is the ambition of P.H.M. Burgaud. |