Because I worked for BAMcinématek and saw many terrific films, I was sad that we couldn't include lesser known films such as works by the Turkish director Nuri Bilge Celyan like his epic tale "Once Upon a Time in Anatolia" (2011) or Ana Lily Amirpour's "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" (2014), self-described "Iranian Vampire Spaghetti Western", to name a few. The challenge and the fun part for the writer is to capture the story's essence in a few words. As Drew mentions, for a public project like ours, a film's plot and characters need to be widely known so that there is a shorthand for connection. Molly: I think any film could be an inspiration for haiku. Which is a roundabout way of saying that you never know what's best suited to being interpreted into haiku. I don't think we ever could've predicted that "Moonstruck" would inspire a comic verse incorporating lactose intolerance or that "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" would be an homage to the library where author Betty Smith hung out as a child. What poets do you think are most cinematic or conversely what movies or types of movies lend themselves best to haiku interpretations?ĭrew: Our suggested movies for the poets had a lot more to do with titles we felt our audience would know than with films we thought were inherently cinematic. Getting over my nervous excitement, I called and the staff member said Lee liked the poem. Molly: After the first round of poems were on view in early July, including my haiku on "She's Gotta Have It," we received a message from Spike Lee's office. ![]() A couple of stoned teens asked us if we were stealing letters off the marquee during our August installation process but even they seemed to get a kick out of the project once we'd explained exactly what we were doing. There's a great pleasure that comes from witnessing people's shared pleasure in pop culture verse - whether they're counting syllables from across the street or hashtagging #moviemarqueepoems with their photos on Twitter and Instagram. Our primary goal, actually, was simply to entertain foot traffic. Then one day, we directed our gaze in the opposite direction at Bartell-Pritchard Square, and there across the circle, we saw some out-of-date signage just waiting for our input: an out-of-use movie marquee with expired movie titles including the misspelled MIDLLE SCHOOL which had become something of a neighborhood pet peeve.Ĭould you tell me about the reactions you have received from the project?ĭrew : The fact that the project has been covered by the " New York Post," "Curbed," and "Brooklyn Papers" has been a delightful surprise to us. Working in another public space was a dream of ours and now it's come true!ĭrew: After Crest Hardware, we pitched a public art project to the Oak Park Pharmacy in Park Slope (which didn't happen because of a timing issue) then talked about approaching the business again but never did. Our first project was at Williamsburg's Crest Hardware shop during their annual hardware art show for which we wrote haiku about tools, using electrician's tape to install our texts. Once I moved to New York in 2001, the conversations continued often around language, collage, and art in public spaces. Since becoming best pals in Junior High, we have always supported each other's creative impulses. Maybe I was thinking of that wonderful Parliament song. The name is a collaboration too: Drew came up with Saint, which reflected his interest in mystics and martyrs, and, I with my love of everyday objects and gadgets, said Flashlight. Molly: Drew and I have been collaborating under the name Saint Flashlight since the late '00s. ![]() Movie Marquee Poems is their newest offering, a public art project in partnership with Nitehawk Cinema and the company's Prospect Park location (188 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn) Each month the previously disused marquee is repurposed to feature original haiku by contemporary poets composed in response to motion pictures. Saint Flashlight consists of childhood friends Molly Gross and Drew Pisarra, who have been working together on art installations and projects for over a decade.
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