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Image and Poem by Chris Stevens-Yu Included in PAL’s Memory Lane Exhibition

Ellen Gilkerson | Published on 9/6/2024

In addition to the images by Shubhie Panicker (Shubhie - PAL), an image by Chris Stevens-YuOver Grown, was selected for inclusion in Pacific Art League’s Memory Lane Exhibition.  The exhibition will run from September 6 through September 24.  The opening reception will take place on Friday, September 6, 5:30 to 8:00 PM.  Everyone is welcome to attend!

MbrInNews 2024_09 Stevens-Yu OverGrown

Chris Stevens-Yu: Over Grown


Over Grown is from a series that documents the state of the playground built by his father when Chris was a toddler.  Over time, the structural decay mimics our own aging process, which creates a new kind of beauty.  There’s a sense of longing for the past, yet accepting the changes time brings.   Chris wrote the following poem to accompany the image:

 

A tree house without a tree.

Built for my brothers and me (all three).

A slide and swings

That have lost their zing.

Faded like my memory. 

 

This playground was encased in a fence.

Built by my dad, it seemed immense. 

Now it lies in ruin,

In weeds we used to dream in.

Rotted boards no longer our defense.

 

Please don’t go, I find myself thinking,

But to the playground or life am I speaking?

I recently turned fifty,

Where the ground can feel shifty,

My bones like those swings start creaking. 

 

I stand holding my camera at my childhood.

To honor this place made of steel and wood.

Loved ones passed,

I’m realizing it doesn’t last,

I would freeze it all if I could.

 

Pacific Art League is a non-profit arts organization.  Since 1921, PAL has been dedicated to the great tradition of promoting art, training emerging artists and enriching lives in the San Francisco Peninsula.  PAL currently enrolls over 2,500 students of all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels in classes taught by a faculty of more than forty experienced artists.

 

Details:

 

Pacific Art League:

  https://www.pacificartleague.org/

  668 Ramona Street

  Palo Alto

  info@pacificartleague.org

  650-321-3891

 

Memory Lane Exhibition:

  September 6 – 24

  Gallery hours:

    Tuesday – Friday, 10:00 AM to 5 PM

    Saturday – Monday by appointment 

 

First Friday Opening Reception:

  Friday, September 6, 5:30 to 8 PM

  Free parking is available across Ramona Street at the Civic Center garage.