This is the second in a series of three installments for Visitant featuring collaborative works from poet Dennis R. Kolakowski and artists Bruce Pipman and Charles W. “Bud” Gibbons, III (future installment). Biographies and back story below.
All Love is Equal in Memory
The clouds have been innocent
since before slavery
since before anyone
had any reason
to be nailed to any crosses,
we’ve figured out
so many God damn ways
to hate,
you’d think by now
love
would have no enemies.
[image: "All Love Is Equal In Memory" | Bruce Pipman]
Bruce Pipman is a Pennsylvania artist who uses acrylics on paper and canvas to create works that ask the viewer to dream about or share his view of everyday objects. He employs variations in color coupled with humor to present his unique view of reality. Drawing fanciful characters as a child led to a creative explosion after retirement.
Dennis R. Kolakowski has had poems with paintings recently accepted/published at Poetry Pacific, Scarlet Leaf Review, Indiana Voice Journal, Oddville Press, Zombie Logic Review, and Summerset Review; short stories, essays and poetry published in the 70s and 80s, and has been screenwriting over the past ten years. Memberships and work include Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association, Penn State engineer and facilities manager for Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh Filmmakers, University of Pittsburgh Applied Research Center and Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Artist’s Statement: Assume nothing/consider everything, stand back and look close—when I remember in any aspect of life, it rewards. Sometimes even makes it to the page.
Dennis Kolakowski on the collaboration:
Bud Gibbons and I met 32 years ago through our wives and children and we’ve shared a wonderful path as one family ever since. Bruce Pipman, having devoted his full time to painting after retiring from business in 2006, approached Bud in 2012 about showing his art in Bud’s gallery at Penn State New Kensington Campus, which turned out to be a huge success and ideal way for us to meet. Unbeknownst to us, we’ve all lived within 5 miles of each other for the past 45 years and Bruce and I that close our entire lives—about 20 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. Today our joint endeavor of poetry with painting is the byproduct of our friendship; three men who have had observations over 204 collective years and just can’t keep it all to themselves—good clean fun.
Visitant 