Poetry in Motion
The world defines people by putting them in boxes. Nowhere is this more true than in the realm of creativity, where people are referred to as, ‘fine artists, or ‘musicians,’ or ‘screenwriters.’ While these boxes provide the world with a frame of reference and a point of departure from which to form a perception of someone’s artistic craft, they can be sometimes be more confining than they are defining. For some creatives, one label is simply not inclusive enough.
These days we’ve become familiar with music producers who are also performing artists as well as songwriters. These intradisciplinary labels are somewhat easy to grasp and even admire. But there are creatives who defy the bounds of creativity (not that there should be any boundaries at all). Theirs is a league of imaginative people who simply create, and do not need their creations to be tied down to a specific discipline.
One of these extraordinary humans is Marta Luné, who describes herself as a poet, an actor, a visual artist and a dancer. We suspect these qualifiers are simply used to appease societal prescriptions, because she is so much more.
A strong start
Marta was born in the region of Piedmont in Northern Italy. Piedmont is known the world over for being the historical home of the white truffle, usually enjoyed alongside a selection of walnuts, chestnuts and homemade cheeses that have earned the region worldwide acclaim. Here, in what many regard as an epicurean paradise, Marta began a journey which she describes as a “mixture of chance and circumstance.”
Having been born with flat feet, her mother enrolled her in ballet classes to correct the structure of her arches. As the fates would have it, Marta fell in love with dance and what started out as a corrective measure became a beloved pastime.
During these formative years, Marta’s mother also recognised and nurtured her daughter’s natural affinity and aptitude for art. Marta’s aunt introduced her to arts and crafts. Her uncle shared with her his love for comedy and wit. She played dress up with her grandmother. She wrote poetry and sketched with her grandfather. And her father read her stories. Collectively, her family became a creative crucible, and somewhere amidst her whirling pirouettes and gazelle-like leaps, mixed in with a flurry of paint strokes and splashes and scribbled words, Marta Luné, the multi-disciplinary creative was born.
An art born in the here and now
Her life, as she describes it, has been a living artwork of “infinite combinations” that consists of the practices she has come to know, love and excel at. As a dancer, Marta is “controlled, graceful, dynamic – and a little alien.” Ballet provided her with the groundwork for developing her own personal sense of style and movement philosophy. As an adolescent, she trained in commercial and hip-hop and in recent years, has experimented in contemporary and floorwork.
For Marta, dance has always been about telling stories by channeling her emotions and allowing them to play out on stage, in the dance studio and wherever she finds herself in moments of treasured solitude. Like many creatives, life for Marta has presented its fair share of highs and lows, often compelling her to isolate. But, as she has discovered, there can be inspiration even in suffering. So, when times get tough and life deals out its cards on its own terms – as it tends to do, she allows herself to pause, collect herself and rest in the understanding and deep conviction that creativity will return when she is ready to receive it.
This philosophy has allowed her to hone her craft and to become a performing artist who is present, generous and genuinely curious about what life has to offer. She sees herself as an instrument, through which truth reveals itself. Through dance, art, poetry and acting, she has learnt invaluable skills like building resilience through rejection, developing discipline in her artistic practice and having the courage to share her art, unhindered by the fear of judgement.
To aspiring creatives, she recommends having at least one art practice that is just for fun, to abandon ambition because it kills creativity, to focus on the expression and on the study. To really articulate for yourself what kind of life and art you want to live and bring forth into the world. While the digital age may seem like a crowded reality, saturated by art, there is also great opportunity within it to connect and explore the value of inter-connectedness.
As she puts it: “There is an audience out there, waiting for what you have to share.”
Marta Luné X The Idō Movement
We were inspired by Marta and the infinite wellspring of passion that she embraces and represents. This inspiration led to the design of the Marta Shiro Top, a cropped, figure-hugging bodice with a subtly frilled collar. Made out of a blend featuring ECONYL®, a textile crafted out of regenerated nylon, the top is a product made from waste that would otherwise pollute the earth. Through it, we have found a way to express our love for people and the planet, and our deep admiration for creatives like Marta, whose lives are open demonstrations of what it means to live, and live freely.
The artist’s flourish
To end, we present one of Marta’s very own literary works, a piece she includes under the category of nursery rhymes for adults:
white foam
rose coloured ink
on a midnight blue
textile coarse cotton
ocean of resin
that I’d like to drink
I’m on the brink
of a level of being
of presence I think
of which I’ve only caught drops
within dreams
between winks
