The Rockwell Museum: Poetry Inspired by the Collection

The Rockwell Museum is a community centered institution that freely engages our audiences to become participants in the visual arts. Our exhibitions and permanent galleries are curated to invite personal engagement and honest reflection. While we strive to provide an art historical interpretation of our collections, The Rockwell Museum also places great value on the individual response to art. No one response is "correct" or was conceived by the artist to be the "right" response. What you as a viewer bring to art has the potential to further enrich that object's cultural meaning for others. Art is intended to be activated through the dynamic partnership of audience.
Each poem in this book is a personal literary response to selected works within The Rockwell's permanent collection. They are the unique creation of one individual, Michael Czarnecki, one of our many local supporters. Harnessing the classical model of ekphrasis has provided an ancient precedent for this rhetorical exercise, whereby a written account is crafted in response to a visual work of art. Therefore, it is in the spirit of dynamic partnership that we present this first book of poetry inspired by The Rockwell Museum's collection for your enjoyment!