John Giorno Life is a Killer

The American poet John Giorno, born in 1936 and recognised today as one of the most influential poets of his generation, was one of the instigators of the Beat Generation. He rapidly became close to William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg and Andy Warhol, for whom he starred in the famous film, Sleep (1963).

For many years John Giorno has been taking words or expressions out of his poems and creating what he calls “Poem Paintings”, using painting, drawing, and sometimes screen printing. Taken out of their literary context, the words are transposed on canvas or paper. Exhibiting his texts in this way confronts the poet with a new audience. He is trying to remove poetry from the elitist repertory to which it is too frequently confined.

Giorno has always striven to open poetry to an audience beyond the world of books. He is notably the inventor of Performance Poetry—lively, intense public readings, during which the spectator is questioned and captivated and an intense emotion is forged with the artist.

For his exhibition at the Galerie Almine Rech, John Giorno has chosen to present one year’s work : a set of 52 unpublished drawings, all made in 2008. John Giorno worked on the smaller drawings when he was touring around the world. Several paintings will be also presented : a set of 18 paintings ‘‘Welcoming The Flowers Paintings’’ and We Gave A Party For the Gods recently shown at the Centre Pompidou in the « Traces du sacré » exhibition.

The drawings and paintings will be installed on the gallery walls covered by several large poems made into stencils.

Two videos will also feature, Welcoming The Flowers and Down Comes The Rain, in which the performing poet directs his own performance.

John Giorno, poète américan né en 1936, aujourd’hui reconnu comme l’un des plus influents de sa génération, est l’un des instigateurs de la mouvance de la Beat Generation. Il devient rapidement proche de Brion Gysin, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg ou encore Andy Warhol pour lequel il sera l’acteur de son célèbre film Sleep (1963).

Depuis plusieurs années, John Giorno extrait de ses poèmes des mots ou expressions et crée ce qu’il appelle « Poem Paintings » utilisant la peinture, le dessin et parfois la sérigraphie. Sortis de leur contexte littéraire, les mots sont alors basculés sur la toile ou sur le papier. En exposant ainsi ses textes, le poète se confronte à un nouveau public. Il cherche ici à faire sortir la poésie du répertoire élitiste dans lequel elleest trop souvent enfermée.

En effet, depuis toujours, Giorno s’attache à ouvrir la poésie à un autre public que celui du livre. Il est notamment l’inventeur de la Performance Poetry, lecture vivante et intense réalisée face au public. Lors de ces lectures, le spectateur est questionné, captivé et une émotion imédiate s’installe entre lui et l’artiste.

Pour son exposition à la galerie Almine Rech, John Giorno a choisi de présenter  son travail d’une année, un ensemble de 52 dessins inédits, tous réalisés en 2008. John Giorno a travaillé sur les plus petits formats lorsqu’il était en tournée dans le monde entier. Seront également présentées plusieurs peintures : une série de 18 peintures intitulées Welcoming The Flowers Paintings et une œuvre unique We Gave A Party For the Gods qui récemment montrée au Centre Pompidou dans l’exposition « Traces du sacré ».

Les dessins et les peintures seront accrochés sur les murs de la galeries recouverts d’immenses poèmes en pochoir.

Nous montrerons enfin 2 vidéos Welcoming The Flowers et Down Comes The Rain dans lesquelles le poète-performeur se met en scène.

The American poet John Giorno, born in 1936 and recognised today as one of the most influential poets of his generation, was one of the instigators of the Beat Generation. He rapidly became close to William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg and Andy Warhol, for whom he starred in the famous film, Sleep (1963).

For many years John Giorno has been taking words or expressions out of his poems and creating what he calls “Poem Paintings”, using painting, drawing, and sometimes screen printing. Taken out of their literary context, the words are transposed on canvas or paper. Exhibiting his texts in this way confronts the poet with a new audience. He is trying to remove poetry from the elitist repertory to which it is too frequently confined.

Giorno has always striven to open poetry to an audience beyond the world of books. He is notably the inventor of Performance Poetry—lively, intense public readings, during which the spectator is questioned and captivated and an intense emotion is forged with the artist.

For his exhibition at the Galerie Almine Rech, John Giorno has chosen to present one year’s work : a set of 52 unpublished drawings, all made in 2008. John Giorno worked on the smaller drawings when he was touring around the world. Several paintings will be also presented : a set of 18 paintings ‘‘Welcoming The Flowers Paintings’’ and We Gave A Party For the Gods recently shown at the Centre Pompidou in the « Traces du sacré » exhibition.

The drawings and paintings will be installed on the gallery walls covered by several large poems made into stencils.

Two videos will also feature, Welcoming The Flowers and Down Comes The Rain, in which the performing poet directs his own performance.