I drafted
this article before I changed residences
Prejudices and Problems
The gallery
in our residence is my responsibility and has been my sole responsibility for
about ten years. Although I had the permission of the management to put my
exhibitions up this did not mean I had the support of one or two people. In
fact, although people on the floor would complement my work from time to time
one woman summed up the general attitude towards the project. I will never
forget what she said but it hits the spot. She said no one ever cares what you
put up on the wall: it is just a wall.
Despite this
fact, I put up about forty different exhibitions in the corridor. I do not know
what the order that runs place thinks about the art, but it was clear to me
that most people who passed by our floor did not hold store pf the idea of art
for art’s sake. Very soon, the works that the house sold had their price
dramatically lowered to a small sum of money. A symbolic sum. I never really
asked if the money went to the chapel, but I have always assumed that was the
deal.
So, despite
the fact I passionately believed in the value and worth of art (I am an artist)
I had the dubious pleasure of working years on a never formally recognized or
supported the gallery. Once an observer told me what it looked like. She had a
friend that put up an exhibition on the waterfront. It took a long time to put
up and he worked on it hard. But no one ever knew about it. And no one would
ever see it. It disappeared without a trace without anyone having a suspicion
that it had ever even taken place. This motivated me to create a copycat of the
exhibition online called the Lost Gallery. This online exhibition exists to
this day.
The Second Floor
The staff
allowed the gallery to exist because it became useful for the people living on
the second floor where it took place. The fourth floor of the residence was for
international visitors. They were coming and had important things to say and associates
to talk to in and out of the community. The first floor was where the offices
were, and this was for residents who had more difficult problems. They too had
people talking with them because they needed the support necessary even to just
live in the residence. The second floor, however, was the floor where women
were much more isolated. The general rule of the thumb was that on my floor,
women were unable to say what they felt. They had no visitors and no
discussion. (Mostly residents had to keep quiet and out of the way. This was a
situation that was difficult (and this still is). It led to visitors avoiding
the second floor because the women were difficult. So, second-floor residents
became isolated, and their problems often remained unsolved. They also got a
bad reputation with the floor.
The Exhibition and Change
When I
started the exhibition, things started to change. As the artwork, I collected
got more expensive another reason to stay away from the floor evolved. There
was an expensive art collection. Remember what I said about the women on the
second floor. I could sum it up with an old expression. Life is cheap. Society labeled
us as middle-aged and isolated and relegated us as insignificant. But the
ladies on the floor. became more important because there was something of worth
on the floor. There was an expensive art collection and therefore they too were
expensive. At least more expensive than before. This made a major improvement
to the kind of women that got shelter on the floor.
The Course of Time
So, the deal
is, that the community felt that art was not worthwhile. So, with time, the
second-floor art achieved a purpose, organically, mostly. It became an avenue
to redefine the worth of the women on the floor. It became a source of their
own empowerment, a redefinition of their worth. Situational constraints, the
very disapproval of art for art’s sake, became a tool to change the role of the
art. It set up a greater worth of the inhabitants on the second floor, and for
the shelter in general. And in this manner got more community resources and
help for a population of chronically neglected.
Over time,
the art that showed on the floor became more valuable. Right now, we have a
series of hand-sewn tapestries framed with custom-made hand-carved wood frames
installed there. They are examples of an inherited art collection. Even ten
years before, the presence of this collection would have not been possible.
Years ago, someone might have, in a fit of confusion, defaced one of the
tapestries. Or one or two might have mysteriously disappeared. But I am happy
to say they have remained unharmed in their respective places for a respectable
couple of years. Life goes on.
My Position
Practically,
because I have worked for over a decade at the Gallery, about a year ago the
establishment that runs the place gave me the permission to assume the position
of Artist in Residence of the place.
As for
myself, after years of working on the gallery, and having a new exhibition of
work each season it has been about two years that I now tend to a permanent
unchanging exhibition. Right now, the home is in transition as the religious
order is selling it. Management asked residents to vacate the premises in the
coming year. So, I am now taking advantage of the situation and finally looking
for an avenue to secure, permanently my extensive collection of art. So far, I
have no information on how to do this because I have truly little money to live
on.
