Dictionary Poem Project, Edition III Collection
Scope and Contents
The Dictionary Poem Project, Edition III Collection contains six fine art prints that make up the Dictionary Poem Project, Edition III. The prints from this edition were created by artist Jane Birdsall-Lander in 2020 amidst the unfolding covid-19 pandemic; the outrage following the death of George Floyd, an African American man, at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis; and the climate change crisis. Each print contains a dictionary poem related to one of the following words: race, virus, wishbone, context, mask, and home truth. The presentation of each poem includes carefully chosen graphics and colors.
Birdsall-Lander describes the Dictionary Poem Project as follows: "The Dictionary Poem Project is an ever-expanding list of words with pronunciations, etymologies, definitions, graphics, and other information. Each word’s "meaning" evolves from its standard origin and definition finally becoming a "dictionary poem" that is more associative, graphic and poetic than a particular word’s conventional meaning. For me, the Dictionary Poem Project is the starting point for an experience, a journey into the center of language, design and the human condition.”
She describes Edition III as follows: “The Dictionary Poem Project, Edition III, pandemic edition, was conceived and written during the quarantine mandated to fight the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020. Using language as a stepping off point edition III takes the viewer/reader on a deep dive into the root of racism in America, social justice, individual and global loss, the inexplicable sense of chance born of wishful thinking, the case for reciprocal human empathy, and the challenge of choice in the face of climate change."
For a detailed background and explanation of the Dictionary Poem Project, see the artist’s statement, available for download as a separate file on the collection page.
Dates
- 2020
Conditions Governing Access
No viewing restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
The artist retains the copyright to the materials in this collection, but has granted the Missouri Historical Society "the right to sublicense these original materials for reproduction and use involving modification of the original materials for projects that are consistent with the Mission of the Miosouri Historical Society." The user assumes full responsibility for conforming to the laws of copyright.
Biographical / Historical
Biographical note taken from the artist’s statement, available for download as a separate file on the collection page:
The Dictionary Poem Project is artwork that I make outside my usual studio practice which at this writing is focused mainly on three dimensional forms. Thematically all my work grapples with the relationship between language and object or image. As it’s evolved, the artwork ranges from small scale fetish-like figures accompanied by poems, to large scale installations of poetry and objects, to wall panels meditating on the evolution of the modern alphabet, to more recent sculptural pieces that are both ideas and primordial forms.
My career as an artist, writer and an interdisciplinary curricula specialist has been driven by my interests in art, language and arts education. I received a Project Room Grant from the Forum for Contemporary Art now the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis where I had a one-person show of poetry and sculpture titled Girlslife: Artifacts and Testimony. I have had solo exhibits at the Schmidt Art Center, Belleville IL, Elliot Smith Contemporary Art and Duane Reed Gallery both in St. Louis. My poems have been published in numerous journals. I have taught and supervised teachers in the public schools and worked at the St. Louis Art Museum as a museum educator in the Arts in the Basic Curriculum Program. I am the author and project manager of Metro Arts in Transit’s Public Art Curriculum Kit which was supported by both a National Endowment for the Arts grant and a St. Louis Regional Arts Commission grant. I am the coauthor and project manager of the St. Louis Public Art Curriculum Kit which is a national model for interdisciplinary arts education. Both of these kits are interdisciplinary, free, educational resources for teachers and the general public.
My work is in private collections in California, Missouri, New Jersey, Washington DC, North Carolina, Michigan, Oregon, New Mexico and New York as well as in Washington University’s Special Collections, The Writer’s Place in Kansas City and the Mitchell Museum in Mt. Vernon Illinois.
I write and design the Dictionary Poems. The form of the poems is also original with me.
I have an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and master’s degrees from Washington University and Webster University both in St. Louis. I’m a full-time studio artist in St. Louis, Missouri where I live with my husband Robert Lander who is a luthier.
Extent
0.06 Cubic Feet ( (1 folder; 6 prints))
Language of Materials
English
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
No physical or technical restrictions.
Additional Indexes
An artist's statement is available for download as a separate file on the collection record in the Missouri Historical Society's online collection search. The statement gives a detailed background and explanation of the Dictionary Poem Project, as well as background and biographical information for the artist.
Custodial History
Prints in this collection are the work of the donor.
Donor Information
Collection donated by Jane Birdsall-Lander in 2022.
Existence and Location of Copies
Digital copies and item-level records of select images are posted as they are created and can be accessed through the Online Collections on the Missouri Historical Society website (mohistory.org/collections).
Digitized images are generated from the original item whenever possible and files are adjusted only to ensure an accurate representation. Master files are saved in TIF format and JPEG viewing files are automatically generated from the master files.
Separated Materials
Greeting cards and a flyer related to a reception for the show are in the Item History File.
Formats
Prints
Processing Information
Processed by Lauren Sallwasser, 2022.
- Title
- Guide to the Dictionary Poem Project, Edition III Collection.
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- EAD by Lauren Sallwasser using ArchivesSpace.
- Date
- 2022
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Missouri Historical Society, Photographs and Prints Department Repository
Library and Research Center
225 South Skinker Boulevard
St. Louis MO 63105
photo@mohistory.org