Poets pay tribute to Brainard

Kirk Baird

Friday, Feb. 1, 2002 | 9:29 a.m.

When: 7 p.m. today.

Where: UNLV's Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery.

Admission: Free.

Information: 895-3893.

When Dayvid Figler was first approached about conducting a poetry reading based, in part, on the writings of artist Joe Brainard, his first reaction was more "huh?" than "sure."

"I wasn't familiar with Brainard's connection to the poetry world," Figler said. "I knew who he was associated with, but I didn't know that much about Joe Brainard."

Which is a common reaction, said Jerry Schefcik, director of the Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery in the Alta Ham Fine Arts Building on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus. The gallery has a collection of Brainard's works on display through Feb. 28.

"(Brainard's) not overlooked, just unknown," Schefcik said.

So the Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery is featuring a poetry reading tonight at the gallery, to call attention to the artist's words as well as his paintings.

Brainard's artwork tends to be more of the pop-art variety, such as sketches of comic-strip icon "Nancy" in a series of nonsequitur panels, and other recognizable comic characters making rather counter-culture observations.

Brainard's work is clearly influenced by the likes of Andy Warhol and even Jasper Johns, who tend to get the lion's share of publicity in place of Brainard.

And even less is known about Brianard's writings: quirky poems that provide a running commentary as part of the life experience; text graphs inserted into the painting and sketches that create a thematic sense of irony in some pieces, or expressive explanations in others.

A fixture of the New York art scene in the 1960s and '70s, Brainard collaborated and inspired many of that city's poets and writers with both his artistic work, as well as friendship.

When Brainard died in 1994 of AIDS-induced pneumonia at age 54, books and websites of dedications to the author, in the form of poems, stories and humorous anecdotes, sprung up.

"Brainard was a cultural commentator," said Figler, a deputy special public defender for Clark County by day and bohemian by night. "He did these epic poem lists and catalogued the sights and sounds that were around him."

Jarret Keene was also unfamiliar with Brainard's poems.

A UNLV visiting professor from Florida State University who writes and teaches poetry and literature, Keene was recruited by Figler to participate in the poetry reading, along with freelance writer Gregory Crosby.

The trio met at Figler's house and read and discussed Brainard's work over a few beers. They soon realized that many of their own poems had much in common with Brainard.

"The more I read Brainard, the more I'm in awe of how much I've been influenced from him -- directly and indirectly," Keene said. "There is a lot of high art and low art, which is something I try to achieve in my own writing."

Lest the reading come across as pretentious art, Figler said the event "is not a weighty poetry reading but a fun celebration" of Brainard's written legacy.

The selection of the works recited will reflect that lighthearted approach, he said. Which is ultimately a mirror of Brainard's art pieces.

"The whole thing is a celebration of culture," Figler said. "We will try to incorporate some of the same themes (of the paintings), but I don't know if any of us will literally do a poem on Nancy and Sluggo."