Christine Kitano: On Ekphrasis (July 2025)

From the Greek for “description,” an ekphrastic text describes and responds to another work of art. One might wonder about the function of ekphrasis–why read about a painting or film instead of experiencing the original work itself? What does a poem or story do that other art forms do not? On the other end of the spectrum, one might wonder if all texts are, in essence, ekphrastic. Furthermore, we’ll consider the ethics of ekphrasis; what do we need to take into account when using cultural artifacts for our own inspiration? Ultimately, we’ll investigate what makes for a “good” or “successful” ekphrastic enterprise.