응시의 에크프라시스에서 일별(一瞥)의 에크프라시스로 - 테이트 브리튼 온라인 미술관의 ｢잘못 인식될 때 기분이 어떤가요?｣ 퍼포먼스 시를 중심으로

From Ekphrasis of the Gaze to Ekphrasis of the Glance: Performance Poetry, “How do You Feel to be Misperceived?” Displayed in the Tate Britain Online Museum

This paper examines George the Poet’s performance poetry, “How do You Feel to be Misperceived?,” as an ekphrasis poem of the glance. Ekphrasis of the glance undermines the power of the rational and timeless gaze by deconstructing the distance between the viewer (the poet) and the text. Unlike poets who traditionally gaze at the visual artwork to create ekphrasis poem, George the poet reads Paul Graham’s photograph entitled Woman on Sidewalk rather than sees it, and ultimately comes to identify with the visual text. Instead of portraying the visual artwork as a static object through language the poet brings the photograph to life by giving it a voice through prosopopeia. In doing so, the picture—once exhibited as a beautiful, silent obzet in the museum—gains a new identity. The speaker of the poem expresses her desire, shifting emotions and inner thoughts inconsistently. By giving the visual text the voice of the glance, George the poet transforms the visual art into an unanalyzable and opaque text, making it a unique subject.