Spatial poem No. 5/Open Event 2023

Organized by guest curator Midori Yoshimoto the New York City Japan Society’s exhibition “Out of Bounds: Japanese Women Artists in Fluxus”, Spatial Poem No. 5/Open Event 2023 reactivates the vision of Fluxus artist Mieko Shiomi and her work, Spatial Poems: “a series of nine mail-art, language-based prompts, later published as Fluxus editions.” Participants from around the world were asked to open something and document the action. For the 2023 iteration, 55 reports were compiled and presented by Yoshimoto.

Date: Friday, September 15, 2023

Time: 10:24amCT

Location: Eastern-facing slope of Mount Mitchell Heritage Prairie, Wamego, Kansas, United States

Submitted by: Kelly Yarbrough

Description: I walked the trail looking for native plants ready to release seed. I thought I would open a milkweed pod because they are so plentiful, but most had already opened themselves. Then, I found a clump of Missouri evening primrose. I know this plant in June when the flowers are bright yellow and ample, folding over themselves like dress skirts. But in September, the flowers are long gone. The whole plant is crispy and beige. The plant is short, hidden among neighbor grasses, and I am happy to have recognized it. The seed pods are not what I expected — so large and substantial! Their forms are reminiscent of a flower, but the texture is stiff and fibrous. One seed pod has four paper thin “wings” extending outward. Like a kite or windmill or a rutter, I can imagine these winged pods catching wind and rolling themselves onward. The actual seeds wait in the center spine where these four wings meet — the inner sanctum. The seed pod seems perfectly formed for two hands to peel it open. And, the sound! The color might be beige, but the sound is electric — like a crack of lightning or tree falling — loud and sharp!