::Mr.Wendal::

"Mr. Wendal has freedom,
a free that you and I think is dumb. 
Free to be without the worries of a quick to diss society,
for Mr. Wendal's a bum."

 

 

I've loved this song since my high school days, and now my kids and I listen to it together on occasion.  We all enjoy it, and the kids especially like Speech's silly scream part at the beginning.  It's a song written to make a statement about homelessness, as explained in the interview you will be linked to if you click on these words.

 

 

In our area, there is no visible homelessness...unless there are people living deep in the forests...  It's not conducive to homelessness here at all, as there is not a town center.  The nearest town center is not far, but there is not public transportation that cause it to be a hubbub of activity.

 

 

This year we visited Philadelphia, PA and Cambridge, MA.  In both places we were exposed to much homelessness.  It was eye-opening for our son, especially as the oldest kid.  And for my husband and I when we walked through Harvard Square at night, not expecting all the homelessness that we came across once we crossed a certain point.

Some cases of homelessness are not chosen.  People are losing their homes and unable to afford rent.  This is happening to families in towns nearby, as I read in a newspaper article recently.  These are invisible cases, as the families are not living on the streets.  Luckily there are homeless shelters to help these families transition.

Then there are some "homeless" people in Harvard Square who, as I read in Spare Change News, are choosing to live in the Square for the summer to raise money in order to move from one state to another (such as from Maine to Georgia).  Instead of getting a summer job, paying taxes on the money they make, and spending money on housing, they are living outdoors and raising money from people who frequent the Square.  These people are peppered among those who are truly homeless - (the fundraisers aren't homeless, in my opinion, and I don't fully agree with what they are doing).

I didn't realize what this post was going to be all about before I began to write it.  I just knew Mr. Wendal needed to be in my blog collection of music videos and freedom songs of sorts.  But it seems there is more to the story.

 

 

One of my favorite memoirs is The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls.  In this book, Jeannette recalls stories of growing up with her three siblings and two parents who were nomadic, adventure seekers, and eventually chose homelessness for themselves.  Jeannette and her siblings ended up doing well for themselves despite how they were raised, and it surprised me how she was able to share her life without any seeming judgment or regret, just love. 


As an adult working in New York City, Jeannette describes driving in a car past her mom, who was out on the street rummaging through garbage, hoping she would not make eye contact.  Her mom did not want responsibility, although she had the means by which to live well at some point in time.  Her homelessness was a chosen way of life.

I would not want to be homeless, but I imagine the fun and freedom in owning an RV and traveling around the country while camping.  There is a balance between stability and responsibility that comes with home ownership.  It requires the loss of some freedoms that may have been enjoyed when there was less to pay for regularly.  I can't imagine traveling around with three kids, not having a home to rest our heads, store our stuff, play, put our feet up.  I'm very thankful for all that we have.


It is interesting to think about though, the implications of freedom and homelessness, the lifestyle choices that some people make, or just end up falling into helplessly.  What can we do?  Everyone's got their own story and life to live. 


I think of Jesus who said, "Foxes have lurking holes and the birds of the air have roosts and nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head."  His Spirit is free, and sets me free, even as I live in a home, with responsibility.  Learning how to embrace that freedom is my goal this year.

"Civilization, are we really civilized?

Yes or no - who are we to judge?

When thousands of innocent men

can be brutally enslaved or killed

over a racist grudge.

Mr. Wendal has tried to warn us

about our ways but we don't hear him talk...

Mr Wendal, a human in flesh,

but not by law.

I feed you dignity to stand with pride

and realize that all in all

you stand tall.

Go 'head Mr. Wendal."

~Arrested Development

Louise Nevelson - Locks Gallery

Upon arriving in Philadelphia on the recent trip my family & I took, I picked up all the magazines and brochures that were around.  In one of the magazines, there was a picture of one of Louise Nevelson's sculptures:  a gold one from the Royal Tide series.  I read that the Locks Gallery would be showing their private collection of her works during the time we were in Philly.  Of course we had to go! 

My family & I were the only ones there, and we were allowed to take photographs.

The mirror elements of Louise Nevelson's collages, which include found materials such as cardboard, intrigued me.  It was meaningful to interact with the art, seeing myself in it, and seeing what was behind me as I viewed the piece. 



The fact that Nevelson used cardboard in her art collages makes me smile.  Cardboard is an everyday item, of seemingly low value, and the use of everyday items in the creation of her art was a theme of Nevelson's.

Through her art, Nevelson made statements about how we see and think about the items that exist in our everyday lives, the items we use all the time.

The theme of new ways to see runs strongly through this collection of Nevelson's art. 

From Philadelphia Weekly:  "Louise Nevelson’s fiercely independent approach to sculpture has become an iconic achievement in postwar art. Working primarily in wood—often found and discarded—the artist’s assemblages create environments of light, shadow, architecture and spatial dynamics.  Her stacks of constructed boxes, each with intricate interior spaces became a signature approach."

"The works on view date from 1957 to 1981 and include a gold sculpture from her important Royal Tide series. Nevelson’s decision to uniformly paint all of her constructions a single color was fully realized by the 1950s—she chose gold after first working only in black, then white. In describing the gold sculptures, she noted with irony and as an immigrant, '

They promised that the streets of America

would be paved in gold.'"

The streets obviously weren't paved in gold, but leave it to Louise to find a new way to see.  With her expertise, she collected those everyday items and those seemingly uses pieces of discarded goods, and turned them into something of value.  She even painted them gold.  What is gold? her sculpture challenges us.  What is of true value?  Shouldn't we value what we actually use? 

As we continue our journey through Philadelphia, which echoes loudly with freedom's sounds, the messages spoken through the heart of Nevelson's art resound.

Freedom Heart

From a page in my Freedom Journal.

Liked with Clytie's



It's True

There was a theme going on our family trip to Philadelphia. 

Louise Nevelson's Bicentennial Dawn carried the message,

as did her Atmosphere & Environment XII.  New ways to see,

different perspectives that caused varied viewing, were literally sculpted into her pieces.  When we visited Sir Isaac's Loft at The Franklin Institute, art & physics collided to speak more of this truth into life.  That's why I had to take a picture of the sign posted above that reads, "Changing the light changes what we see...  and how we see.  It can freeze time, reveal invisible worlds, and make the familiar seem fresh.  New perspectives bring new insights."

The two artists whose work is featured in this exhibit, Hugh Turvey & Artemi Kyrlacou, specialize in X-ray photography, which they describe "is about 'insight' and the 'true nature' of the constructed world around us." 

For new perspectives, for insight:

This is why I'm all about Prism Vision.

And it's why I look forward to the messages I'll receive when my family & I visit science centers, like DaVinci, where these two pictures, the prism above and ice below, were taken.

It's why I'm obsessed with Secret Messages...

And it's why I know that this is true:

contrary to popular belief,

God doesn't always want to put us in a box

and stop us from being the unique individuals

that we were created to be.

I know that once we simply embrace the art of what

the Spirit is doing within us,

our purposes are revealed

and we are happier people -

we don't always have to worry

that God's plan is something we're going to hate,

that we're doomed to live lives that rub

against the very grain of our being...

I've found that once I looked at it differently,

I saw that God wants to set me free,

to live in the truths set out before time,

and be who He has always wanted me to be.

And look!  Even the gunk in my sink

is smiling back at me!

(Which ,of course, was noticed by my son.)