Anne Kulou, a photographer and poet from Germany, is a true artisan of the noticing.
She is a non-interfering presence, a diligent Boswell to the everyday grace of the mundane. She becomes one with the surroundings to capture its quiet essence.
“My creative work grows out of a need to reconnect—with the world, with others, and with the deeper layers of myself that so easily get lost in noise,” Kulou says. Her work—both in visual and poetry form—explores themes such as connection and intimacy by showcasing a world where the fragile becomes a strength. What prevails the most is the idea that the inner and outer worlds, as she describes them, can be in sync.
When that occurs, the world is at peace, landscapes become quiet stills, and both living and material subjects exist in static harmony. Clarity isn’t what is the most important, and neither is the aesthetics. The artist agrees that the pieces are merely “invitations to feel, to witness, to remember.”
Winter Rain
winter rain—
a sparrow pecks crumbs
at my feet.
Imperfection
empty coffee cup—
a new moment to love
imperfection.
Dust in Grace
Anne Kulou
The light is pale; as always at this time of year,
and yet today it seems dense—carried by the particles of being.
I can almost see them.
Each of them appears filled with life,
with love.
—
I sit in my office, gazing out, looking at the trimmed bushes,
at the fountain with its meager spray,
quietly trickling away.
My eyes wander across the things on my windowsill:
two paintings made by friends, my Zamioculcas zamiifolia,
whose soil now carries mold.
I am still.
I feel emptiness, silence, a sense of detachment—
and at the same time, of being woven in.
I am part of a scene unfolding right here, as if it mattered,
as if it were being watched by someone greater,
looking down, directing it—someone who loves.
And I ask myself:
How does this Someone look upon the not-so-peaceful scenes?
Upon violence, inhumanity, cruelty toward life, ignorance, coldness?
—
in faint winter light—
even the dust motes dancing
feel the world’s tension.
Read our “Metamorphosis” issue in full
In the 3rd issue of RAWGUE., 24 visual artists and poets share a common pursuit: authenticity over perfection. The subtle art of becoming, the passage through various stages of artistic contemplation, the ever-shifting states of mind, feeling, and medium, or the act of altering reality to underline emotion or meaning – metamorphosis.
We’re a team of writers using our craft to spotlight art in its most honest form. RAWGUE. started as a bi-monthly editorial experiment where each issue’s theme is dictated by the submitted work, thus removing editorial bias from the equation and preserving a more raw approach. We focus on all forms of poetry: written, photographed, painted, drawn, and filmed.
