Writing and Reading

My brother Paul, famous (and sometimes infamous) artist, might like this post. It’s a funny title, I know. Usually, my titles are easy to read.

But I was so inspired to write this post due to the fabulous Meijer Gardens I visited today with my son. There was a new art exhibit there. A new sculptor had featured some of his works there. And needless to say, I was stunned. I think the words I spoke were, “whoa, what the heck is that!” The security guard laughed at me, because that was pretty much the norm for this new artist. His work is phenomenal. Powerful.

His name is Jaume Plensa. I was instantly enamored with him. Him being a Spanish sculptor, I immediately identified with him. I’m Hispanic. My son, of course, was astonished. It was a feast for the eyes, let me tell you.

I’ll just show you the one that really latched onto my heart in a most remarkable way….

What you are looking at is a giant sculpture of a head in the middle of a room. And surrounding it are countless pairs of old and new shoes. Just thrown around it. These photos weren’t from the actual exhibit at the Gardens where my son and I visited. But it is the same exhibit.

You would have to physically be there to really experience what this really means. You can’t see it from these photos too well. But look closely….

From the photos, it looks like the sculptured head has scars on his face. One on each cheek. He has another on his forehead that you really can’t see too well.

I, on the other hand, saw the scars. And they’re not just scars. They’re words.

If I recall correctly, the word on his right cheek is ‘enfermedad’. On his left cheek, the word ‘insomnio’ is written. On his forehead, he has the word ‘hambre’. Those are Spanish words. They mean consecutively disease, insomnia, and hunger.

I won’t go into detail on what exactly it means with the old and new pairs of shoes surrounding the sculptured head. That’s not what this post is about. Think about it, though. You should be able to figure it out.

I will say, though, that according to some research I spent, Jaume Plensa is especially fond of the writings of Oscar Wilde. And according to Wilde, the three most tragic human miseries are, in fact, disease, insomnia and hunger. Plensa had always been captivated by that–using art, he expressed that tragedy, that human tragedy. He took phenomenal writing and displayed for people to see. He took wisdom, he took words, and made it malleable. He paid homage.

Think about what the whole exhibit means. The sculptured head, the closed eyes, the words planted on it.

DISEASE. HUNGER. INSOMNIA.

The countless shoes surrounding the sculpture. Just strewn all over. The room I walked in with my son as we examined the huge sculpture (it practically filled a 40×40 room, low light, only a soft illumination from the sculptured head) left a darkness inside me. Reminding me.

How fragile we are.