about art _ magrane

eric magrane	home	poetry	gallery	& etc
about art \| WHEN Eric Magrane first moved from Maine to the Sonoran Desert, he marveled at the sharpness of the landscape. On a thick piece of glass, he sandblasted: HERE THINGS BECOME SHARPER WITH AGE Out in Saguaro National Park, he took photos of the piece--balanced in a cholla, resting between the main body and arm of a saguaro, in the branches of an ocotillo. Having begun to experiment with the presentation of poetry off the white page while he was a student at Goddard College in Vermont, Magrane’s first sandblasting project was to sandblast “you must change” (part of a famous line from Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem “Archaic Torso of Apollo”) into granite. Of course, the granite resisted change, and it took time to dig the line into the piece. This was the last piece he sandblasted into granite; since then, he has focused his poetry toward the surface of glass and mirror. He is especially drawn to mirrors: as the reflective surface of a mirror is actually behind the glass, a letter sandblasted into mirror holds a great amount of depth. Viewing from about a forty-five degree angle, it seems as if the letter is printed twice—once on the surface, once on the back. Literally, this makes the word a reflexive thing. Magrane's current projects have also expanded to include environmental art/poetry installations, and blown glass. The poetry that Magrane writes for his glass and mirror pieces often starts from his experience of wild, natural places. As a professional hiking guide, he spends many of his days in the sky islands surrounding Tucson. He has been named an Artist-in-Residence at Big Cypress National Preserve, Isle Royale National Park, and at Buffalo National River. He received his B.A. from Goddard College, his M.F.A. from the University of Arizona, and has taught poetry and writing at Prescott College, the University of Arizona, and at Pima Community College. His poetry has been published in journals such as you are here: journal of creative geography, and Café Review. You can also find some of his poetry published in the online journals *terrain.org,* *Sugar Mule,* and EOAGH: A Journal of the Arts.

eric magrane

poetry

about art |

WHEN Eric Magrane first moved from Maine to the Sonoran Desert, he marveled at the sharpness of the landscape. On a thick piece of glass, he sandblasted:

HERE THINGS BECOME
SHARPER WITH AGE

Out in Saguaro National Park, he took photos of the piece--balanced in a cholla, resting between the main body and arm of a saguaro, in the branches of an ocotillo.

Having begun to experiment with the presentation of poetry off the white page while he was a student at Goddard College in Vermont, Magrane’s first sandblasting project was to sandblast “you must change” (part of a famous line from Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem “Archaic Torso of Apollo”) into granite. Of course, the granite resisted change, and it took time to dig the line into the piece. This was the last piece he sandblasted into granite; since then, he has focused his poetry toward the surface of glass and mirror.

He is especially drawn to mirrors: as the reflective surface of a mirror is actually behind the glass, a letter sandblasted into mirror holds a great amount of depth. Viewing from about a forty-five degree angle, it seems as if the letter is printed twice—once on the surface, once on the back. Literally, this makes the word a reflexive thing. Magrane's current projects have also expanded to include environmental art/poetry installations, and blown glass.

The poetry that Magrane writes for his glass and mirror pieces often starts from his experience of wild, natural places. As a professional hiking guide, he spends many of his days in the sky islands surrounding Tucson. He has been named an Artist-in-Residence at Big Cypress National Preserve, Isle Royale National Park, and at Buffalo National River. He received his B.A. from Goddard College, his M.F.A. from the University of Arizona, and has taught poetry and writing at Prescott College, the University of Arizona, and at Pima Community College. His poetry has been published in journals such as you are here: journal of creative geography, and Café Review. You can also find some of his poetry published in the online journals terrain.org, Sugar Mule, and EOAGH: A Journal of the Arts.