If you aren’t already tuning in and paying attention to the monthly video series, “Art Now“, then it is time to add this one to your urgent to-dos list. Rachel Lauren Storm, coordinator of the Urbana Public Arts Program, and I have been talking, sharing, and spinning ideas as of late, and one that we are both excited about is to bring more awareness to artists that are active in our community. “Art Now” has over 90 episodes and has been releasing a new episode every month for the past three years. This means, if you are just now learning about the series, you have some summer binging to delve into. And if you are worried about staying up-to-date once you’ve caught up, rest easy, because in coming months I hope to join Rachel and cross feature artists that will be interviewed on “Art Now”, amplifying coverage of those who deserve the attention of our entire community, awareness, and support. This month’s featured artist is Jim O’Brien. Read the creative and beautiful introduction Rachel has written about her interview with Jim below. Find the link to the “Art Now” episode below as well. And remember to keep an eye out next month for an article on the August episode featuring the brilliant and captivating storyteller Dawn Blackman. Photos by Jessica Schluter.
Click clack, click clack. The sounds of fingers striking the keys of the typewriter bounce from my ears to the walls and back. We’re perched at Sipyard, a bar built out of shipping containers in Urbana’s Downtown where you can order a beer, catch a music show, or mingle in the sun. Jim has set-up shop for our interview-his red typewriter, a stack of bookmarked paper, and instructions for participating in Poems on Tap. He’s wearing a t-shirt made of Allen Ginsberg’s HOWL-the poem appears in tiny font all over the shirt. Barely peeking from under his right sleeve is a tattoo of his typewriter. As he sits as foreground to Sipyard’s graffiti gallery, I can’t help but think about the uniqueness of this place, Urbana, and its eclectic arts scene.
Jim O’Brien goes by his pen name James Escher, paying homage to his childhood connection to Ayrshire, Iowa and his love of M.C. Escher’s mesmerizing illustration work. Poems on Tap is somewhat of an installation, an experience for bar patrons and community members. Jim sets up a small teakwood table and chair, readies his typewriter, and invites each passerby to give him a word or tell him a short story that will inform a custom poem written on demand. The brief encounter invites an intimacy rare the world over. Sit with him for a moment and he’ll write a poem designed of that encounter-one that reveals his gift of observation. His presence is calm, curious, and engaged. Apart from Poems on Tap, which he offers at downtown events, Jim is also the curator of CU Poetry Group and has helped spearhead programs like MTD Poems, CU Haiku, Poets at the Post, and Pygmalion’s Lit Poetry Marathon. In this month’s Art Now interview, we learn more about the man behind the typewriter. Catch the full episode here.