Come To The Edge . . .

"Come To The Edge . . . "
Here is another of my 'scrabble' pieces.  I have made and sold several variations of this piece before.  The quote is still a favorite of mine.

"Come to the edge", he said.

They said, "We are afraid".

"Come to the edge", he said.

They came, he pushed them, and they flew.

                                        - Guillaume Apollinaire

                                                                French poet and novelist 1880-1918

For years I have attributed this quote to Guillaume Apollinaire, as have many others.

Upon further research on Apollinaire and this quote, I discovered that these words were originally written by an English poet named Christopher Logue. The poem he wrote was commissioned by the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in 1961 or 1962, to be used for a poster advertising an Apollinaire Exhibition titled "Apollinaire Said".

Hence the mis-attribution, by me and everyone else in the English-speaking world . . . oh wait, I found this photo on-line, with the words written in Spanish on a wall somewhere in Salamanca, Spain, also attributing the quote to Mr. Apollinaire. . . .

 

On the bottom right of the wall the quote is attributed to G Apollinaire

With the understanding of the circumstances by which this misappropriation may have occurred, I have to say that I will continue to think of Guillaume Apollinaire every time I read these words.

Besides, I really like saying Guillaume Apollinaire.

 ***

When I read these words I think how many times I have stood on "The Edge" of one of life's major decisions waiting for a push, from something or someone . . . thinking, feeling, fearing that "the decision" was way too BIG for me to make on my own . . .

. . . only to realize that once 'pushed' I was able to fly.  Always have.

"Come To The Edge"

"Come To The Edge"   ●

    I absolutely love this quote, which is widely attributed to Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918), a French poet / writer of Italian birth and Polish descent, was hugely influential as a Modernist poet and as a spokesman for the Cubist painters.

"Come to the edge he said. 

They said, we are afraid. 

Come to the edge he said. 

They came. 

He pushed them, and they flew." 

   I have made two other pieces using this quote, and I think many other people really like it too, because I continue to have more requests for it in my art.
   This scrabble tile art piece is constructed inside a wooden frame, covered in various tissues. The tiles are placed atop a cut portion of the lid of a wine box fitted inside the frame.  Six inches of vintage wooden yardstick finish the piece.  A colorful Mexican parrot, and a small brass bell, calls you to 'the edge'.
   One thing I have not been able to figure out about this quote is: What was Apollinaire referring to when he wrote this.
Do you know?  Share with me if you do.

The Edge

"The Edge" ●

"Come to the edge he said. 

They said, we are afraid. 

Come to the edge he said. 

They came. 

He pushed them, and they flew."

This is a quote by Guillaume Apollinaire a poet, playwright, short story writer and novelist.

When I first read it, I knew I wanted to use it in my art. This is what I came up with. A simple  wall hung piece, spelling out the quote with Scrabble tiles and embellished with images of birds from an illustrated vintage bird book.