Skip to Main Content

 Admission is always freeOpen today: 10:00  to 5:00  Directions             Play Artle            

                  -  Visit                      - Visit
                    - Getting Here
                    - Accessibility
                    - Tours, Guides & Maps
                    - Food & Drink
                    - Gallery Shops
                    - Visitor Policies 
                  -  Collection                      - Collection
                    - Highlights
                    - Search the Collection
                    - Artists Search
                    - Acquisition Highlights
                    - Stories 
                  -  Exhibitions                      - Exhibitions
                    - Current
                    - Special Installations
                    - Upcoming
                    - On Tour
                    - Past 
                  -  Calendar                      - Calendar
                    - Films
                    - Performances
                    - Talks
                    - Guided Tours
                    - After Hours
                    - Fun for Kids
                    - Festivals
                    - Workshops 
                  -  Learn                      - Learn
                    - Teachers
                    - Families
                    - Teens
                    - Adults
                    - Learning Resources
                    - Music Programs
                    - Film Programs 
                  -  Conservation                      - Conservation
                    - Projects
                    - Publications
                    - Resources 
                  -  Research                      - Research
                    - The Center
                    - Publications
                    - Make an Appointment
                    - Archives
                    - Library
                    - NGA Online Editions 
                  -  Support                      - Support
                    - Donate Now
                    - National Membership
                    - Circle Membership
                    - Leadership Groups
                    - Planned Giving
                    - Major Giving
                    - Gifts of Art 
                  -  Shop                      - Shop
                    - Books
                    - Jewelry
                    - Apparel & Accessories
                    - Kids
                    - NGA Custom Prints 
                  -  Play Artle

Home>Stories>Poet Ilya Kaminsky Responds to a Sculpture by Alberto Giacometti

Art in Focus

# Poet Ilya Kaminsky Responds to a Sculpture by Alberto Giacometti

 min read

As part of our “Poetry is a country” festival we invited celebrated American poets to compose something new inspired by art in our collection. Ilya Kaminsky’s poem responds to Alberto Giacometti’s sculpture *Walking Man II*.

Alberto Giacometti, *Walking Man II*, 1960, bronze, Gift of Enid A. Haupt, 1977.47.7

**A Walking Man**

**Ilya Kaminsky**

“Giacometti is not working for his contemporaries, nor for the future generations: he is creating statues to delight the dead.” –Jean Genet

 

Perhaps you too, upon seeing Giacometti’s “Walking Man,” will run from the National Gallery of Art hollering into the Potomac, will strip off your shirt— as you splash, the gulls will toss your pants back and forth making a game of what cannot be eaten. 

Perhaps you too have an enormous, impolite need to drink with the long-legged statue, but no  beverages are allowed in the gallery & even Giacometti’s  “Walking Man” is afraid of the guard & wishes  him bird droppings in his hair. 

Between the flashes of tourist cameras, I see it: Giacometti’s “Walking Man” is a political declaration— 

A public lecture on how people’s souls are unbandaged and how  we will die of them. 

The air is raw with joy. Sit, heart, rest  from the soul’s south-west Why so much life? I don’t know what to do with less! 

I have given up all I have to the giver of bread and breath. 

Outside, Washington DC is a theater where police vans play the role of police vans and senators pretend to be senators a taxi makes a city more a city and boys still don’t read except for what is written on women’s t-shirts. 

At 10 am, the gallery opens and you zigzag between  our nation’s most important people parading between important paintings. Someone’s camera flashes— a politician hurries by as if he were Giacometti’s “Walking Man” but he looks more like a well punched  bus ticket. 

Why so much life? I don’t know what to do with less I have given up all I have. 

When I die, find me at the National Gallery of Art I’ll be flat on the floor in front of Giacometti’s “Walking Man” a little flask of lemon vodka in my pocket  I want the last joy of putting my cheek to the stone floor of whispering *you in whom I do not believe, hello.*

* *

Please note: We have tried to preserve the formatting of poems, but some devices may distort how text appears. Read the poem in its original formatting here.

Explore new creations by some of America’s most important living poets.Read more

Top image: Visitors cross a bridge in the National Gallery’s East Building Atrium next to Alberto Giacometti’s *Walking Man II*.

Ilya Kaminsky

Professor of creative writing, Princeton University

September 15, 2023

Share 

### Stay connected

Learn more about our exhibitions, news, programs, and special offers.

About
          - About the National Gallery
          - Stories
          - Press
          - FAQs
          - Contact Us

Plan a Visit
          - Getting Here
          - Accessibility
          - Today's Tours
          - Food & Drink
          - Calendar
          - Downloadable Map

Get Involved
          - Donate
          - Membership
          - Volunteer
          - Opportunities
          - Shop Online

Resources
          - Search the Collection
          - Conservation
          - Library
          - Archives
          - The Center
          - Film Programs
          - Music Programs
          - Audio/Video
          - Open Access Images

Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily

**West Building**6th St and Constitution Ave NW*Enter or exit from Constitution Avenue, 4th Street, or 7th Street. The Madison Drive entrance is currently closed.*

**East Building**4th St and Constitution Ave NW*Enter and exit from 4th Street.*

**Sculpture Garden**7th St and Constitution Ave NW*Enter and exit from 7th Street, Constitution Avenue, or Madison Drive.*

We are closed on December 25 and January 1.

*The National Gallery of Art serves the nation by welcoming all people to explore and experience art, creativity, and our shared humanity.*

          -  Twitter 
          -  Facebook 
          -  Instagram 
          -  Pinterest 
          -  YouTube 

© 2024 National Gallery of Art   Notices   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy