MASS MoCA A Reflection

MASS MoCA A Reflection

I was originally intimidated as Patrick talked about the art and what to expect. I really thought that I would have a difficult time understanding what I was seeing and how to interpret it. I immediately found myself breezing through, stopping, looking but not quite getting it. I stopped dead in my tracks when I walked into a room with a pair of boots in the sand. Scott and I started to talk about it. I realized that there was some deep meaning about the boots. Kevin had walked by and mentioned that the item in the back was a baby rattle, possibly representing his daughter. I was glad to have had that opportunity to be able to communicate with two folks that were able to help me see and understand what the artist was trying to say. From that point, I slowed down a little and read the cards in each room. Those cards were very useful. Two other items that I particularly loved were the jars from the artist’s life. Someone actually pointed out that it could have been two artists because of the way some of the tags were written. I also really like the three white paintings (which were actually done with a laser printer) with the lockets dangling. http://www.withoutsanctuary.org/ While looking around the internet for some more information I was able to find this site, which offers a pictorial essay about lynching in America. It is very sad.

One final note about today, Susan received a phone call shortly before group two had reconvened with her on the picnic tables. She spoke for a few seconds on the phone and then hung up. Her face looked different. She looked happy. She looked as though a weight had just been lifted from her shoulders. She immediately said, “I just got good news about my house.” She was actually beaming. I found that for the first 4 days, Susan had looked tired, worn down. Her entire demeanor had changed after the phone conversation. I was thankful to have my camera and be able to capture the moment on film.