Nanas Upside Down, by Sue Simek

The Three Graces (Dancing Nanas), by Niki de Saint Phalle (France) 1995. Photo by Kirk K. Via Flickr. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

​Nanas Upside Down

After Niki de Saint Phalle’s Nana sculptures
with a line by the artist

Nanas rejoice: black Nanas, white Nanas, 
ultramarine Nanas. Fleshy, faceless, 
gracing public places.  Ex-cover girl Niki 
fashioned heads sans features or hair. Bright orbs 

rising over seven-feet atop bodies at play.
A male, gazing, has to look up.   Acrobats, 
in vivid tints, maillots, adorned
with hearts, stars, stripes, Nanas dance, leap,

turn, balance in arabesque, on feet or hands.   
Nanas in asanas.    Painted in polychrome, 
to shine, or with surface cracked, mirror bits, 
mosaics, for Niki’s recovery —  broken,

through creation to discovery.     There is nothing 
more shocking than joy. 

In April, at Christie’s, at auction, a small headless Nana, labeled
“Upside down Lady Vase.” Ceramic, glazed, she stays stable,
on her shoulders, legs up and splayed. Between,
an open space, for fresh water and bouquets.

Sue Simek
​
Sue Simek is a poet and essayist. In her writing she draws on many facets of her experience, from her love of the arts and pop culture, language and travel, to perspectives on living with a chronic health condition. Now retired, she has worked as a software executive, arts administrator, and yoga instructor.  Sue lives with her family in New Jersey.