'Leaves of Grass' Psychedelically Explored

Hyperallergic takes a look at a new animated rendition of the epic Walt Whitman poem, "Leaves of Grass." Crafted by Sophie Koko Gate, the animation is "basically a Walt Whitman music video, with a Tom Waits vibe." More:

Since Walt Whitman published Leaves of Grass in 1855, the famously banned poetry collection has inspired all kinds of contemporary artistic homages, including Breaking Bad subplots, illuminated manuscripts, Lana Del Rey songs, and a typeface made from images of naked men, to name just a few. London-based animator Sophie Koko Gate‘s mesmerizing cartoon rendition of “Song of Myself” is the latest in this slew of Whitman tributes, and perhaps the most accessible for the internet age.

Narrated in baritone by Peter Blegvad, with suggestive, psychedelic graphics, the animation gives fresh life to the 160-year-old epic poem. Set to Oswald Skillbard’s spastic electronic music, Whitman’s words sound as radical and contemporary as ever. Even those who have read and reread the poem “Song of Myself” will find it strange and new here, thanks to colorful visualizations of “love-root, silk-thread, crotch and vine” and strange alien creatures mouthing “the belch’d words of my voice loos’d to the eddies of the wind.” It’s basically a Walt Whitman music video, with a bit of a Tom Waits vibe.

The animation is the first of an eight-part series, called Poetry of Perception, which explores representations of perception and sensation. The series, all animated poetry, is produced by Nadja Oertelt as part of Harvard’s free online course, the Fundamentals of Neuroscience. Gate, a Royal College of Art graduate, is best known for her work animating The Guardian‘s Agony Aunt advice column. [...]

And more at Hyperallergic.