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Artist’s Statement
What is a Dream House?
Is it building or a home? An idea or a place to stand your ground?
Is it the core
component of the
so-called American
Dream, which has become
almost unattainable for
so many? Is it a place
to live, to gather with
family, to sleep
securely? Is it a
status symbol, a public
proclamation of
financial and social
success? Is it a
fortress to keep out
all invaders? Is it a
container to curate
precious collections,
or to hold onto junk?
Does a house retain
memories of lives lived
and of those long
departed, and as Jung
suggests, can it embody
the psyche, with each
room and floor
representing a
different aspect? What
happens when the dramas
that play out within
its walls spill out?
As nature does not
appear to respect
property lines, even
the most secure house
is no match for the
power of wind, water
and earth. Human-made
catastrophes, like
recession, mass layoffs
and the increasing
impacts of climate
change only add to the
chaos. What then
happens to the
dispossessed and the
unhoused? What happens
to the unwanted
material objects, so
lovingly collected over
a lifetime, when the
owner has had to
downsize or has passed
away? Are these pieces
of a life donated to
charity, sold at an
estate sale, or left on
the curb for trash
pick-up? And what is it
about the house,
whether owned or
rented, that causes
people to risk their
lives and well-being to
hold on and stay, even
when danger or
financial collapse is
at the door?
From the first open
house visit, to the
purchase of a
fixer-upper in a
red-lined neighborhood,
to the creation of a
home, which becomes a
vehicle for family
cohesion, personal
expression, community
interaction, and
sometimes
wealth-building,
through the potential
dissolution of the
household, or even the
catastrophic loss of
the house itself, and
on to whatever the
inevitable end of the
cycle may be, this
exhibition presents one
artist’s attempt
to address these
questions and more
through a combination
of painting,
photography, collage,
and 3D mixed media
construction.
There is always more to the story...
Selected Works from Exhibit
Top Image—Needs Love
: A young couple
with a six-year-old son
have been hunting for a
Dream House, starter
edition. They both work
decent jobs and have
saved for a down
payment, but they have
been priced out of the
market in all of their
chosen locations that
are still close to
their work. Finally,
they decide to tour a
distressed house, a
foreclosure in a less
desirable neighborhood.
While the husband
discusses terms with
the real estate agent,
the wife and their son
check out the bedrooms.
She thinks the master
is so small and wonders where she will put their clothes. The boy is happy about having a bedroom in a house and not just an apartment. Clearly, the only bathroom is a complete tear-down, and the kitchen is not much better, but they can use it while making higher priority repairs. The agent says the price is right, and the area is up and coming. They decide that since they’ve been searching for so long, this one has potential. It will take more than love to bring it back, but with some cash and lots of sweat equity, they can salvage their dream.
Dream House Out of Reach
Dream House Out of Reach:
A well-dressed couple with their two
young children stare up longingly at the house of their dreams, located in
the clouds above them. Mesmerized, they both ignore their children who
are trying to recapture their attention. The parents have eyes only for the
Dream House that seems to be beckoning them with its gold color and
flashing lights. A short rope ladder hangs from the house, theoretically
allowing access to anyone who can reach it. Alas, even with two incomes,
the couple cannot reach the ladder. What a crushing disappointment! They
were promised that if they worked hard, did everything right and followed
all the rules, they would have the success they deserved. They had climbed
so high and yet their Dream House was still out of reach. Their dream in
shambles, the parents pick up their children, climb back down to earth, and
go out for burgers and fries.
Dream House Out of Reach, detail
Estate Sale Series
: The successful architect lived for six decades in the
Dream House that he designed and built for his family. Most of the years
spent together in the house were happy ones, but the last few years he has
been quite lonely. His wife is dead and his children all live far away. He has
no close living friends to spend time with. He has become too old and
infirm to remain in the big house with so many stairs. He’d rather cut off
his own leg than to install a stair lift! No, he’s decided to sell his Dream
House with an unbreakable restriction on making substantial changes to
the structure. It gives him some small comfort thinking about keeping his
“baby” safe. He’s not considering that a “natural or unnatural” disaster in
the future may render all his plans moot. As the date of the house sale
approaches, his agents hold a well-advertised Estate Sale to dispose of all
of the now inconvenient and unwanted accumulations of a lifetime. As
advertised:
Architect’s Desk and House Plans 1-3
Architect’s Desk and House Plans 1-3
: The desk is fine walnut with a
Morocco leather topper, contains vintage tools of the achitectural design
trade; also included are original plans for several early 20th century
country houses, built and as yet, un-built.
Architect’s House Plans, Plan One
Curio Cabinet
Curio Cabinet
: A collection of unusual items the owner amassed over
years of adventure traveling in exotic locations. Note: This collection
should not be broken up for a very specific but undisclosed reason, and as
such, it will only be sold as a lot.
Curio Cabinet, detail
Kitchen Drawer
Kitchen Drawer
: Self-explanatory, contents of kitchen and butler’s
pantry from a bygone era. The owner was well known for hosting
exceptional dinner parties.
Kitchen Drawer
Jewelry Box
Jewelry Box
: Costume jewelry belonging to the owner’s late wife. She
cherished every piece regardless of the material worth. Note: some
costume jewelry has in recent years risen significantly in value; use a
discerning eye and you may find a treasure.
Box of Miscellaneous Game Pieces
Box of Miscellaneous Game Pieces
: A box containing the scattered
memories of a time when this house was really a home, was full of life,
love, youth and fun. The only value in this box is purely and deeply
sentimental.
Box of Miscellaneous Game Pieces, detail
Duplex Paint Job
Duplex Paint Job
: One of the hot topics for tonight’s neighborhood
association discussion is the garish paint job on the duplex down the street.
The individual owners decided to each paint their own side, just split it
down the middle and paint in bold, uncoordinated colors, with no regard
for visual harmony, or the tender sensitivities of their neighbors. A strongly
worded letter may need to be drafted. What an affront to decency and
decorum!
Battle of the Block
Battle of the Block
: Every neighborhood, every residential block has its
own zeitgeist and its own cast of characters. What is a house good for if it
doesn’t serve as your vehicle for personal and political self-expression?
There is a sort of dialectic interaction between the red house on the right
and the blue house on the left. How fortunate that the fence between them
is so high. Mr. MAGA is less tolerant of his anti-MAGA neighbors, than they
are of him and his antics. Anyway, the blue family was there first.
A local reporter interviews the blue family about how they deal with the
red family, since it’s been reported that they have become even more
annoying as election season approaches. The blue family responds by
putting up another rainbow flag. The battle continues.
A House is Not Always a Home
(when everyone is always on their phone)
A House is Not Always a Home
(when everyone is always on their
phone): This still looks for all the world like a Dream House, with modern
furnishings and décor. But the family members no longer interact. They are
all addicted to their phones and no one can break through the screen focus
bubble. No one eats together, no one speaks to anyone, no one says good
morning, good night, please, thank you, I love you. This home is breaking
apart in slow motion. The physical house will remain when the home is
dead and gone.
Squatters
Squatters
: The people staying in this abandoned house each have a
different story. One is hiding from an abusive partner. Another is a vet
with PTSD so out of control that his wife made him leave home before he
could hurt someone. He’s getting help from a clinic. But but prefers to
sleep in a squat over staying in a shelter. One couple is on the run to escape
a dangerous man with a vendetta. The rest of the squatters were just one
paycheck away from homelessness, then when the paycheck didn’t come,
the homelessness did. Here, no one asks questions or passes judgment.
They will all try to get back on their feet and some of them will. For now,
they have people’s electric and water, and a safe place to sleep. They watch
each others’ back, they share resources as they can, and with no one else to
count on, they are building a temporary family within the sheltering walls
of the abandoned house.
Dream House Swallowed by a Sink Hole
Dream House Swallowed by a Sink Hole
: The owner is shocked! He
had no way, he says, to know that his Dream House was built on calcium
carbonate coral rock which eroded through the acidification of ground
water from industrial pollution, resulting in a sink hole which has
swallowed his house. He says he didn’t consider the number of blue holes,
underwater caves and sink holes that populated his area of central Florida
when he purchased the lot. He says that there’s no way he would have built
there if he had known. Now he only hopes he can get out alive.
Dream House Swallowed by a Sink Hole, detail
Revenge of the Lawn
Revenge of the Lawn
: The second topic of the neighborhood association
discussion is a matter of some urgency. The lawn and back yard of the
empty house on the next block has overgrown so much that it poses a
safety danger to the street, and worse yet, its bad behavior is beginning to
rub off on the lawn next door, which has grown shaggy and is sporting
dandelions. If left unchecked, what will be next? The lawn by the bus stop?
Heaven forbid! Poor Mr. Mann has been trying to clear the rogue lawn but
he hasn’t made much progress. This calls for more drastic measures. Let’s
petition the city to tear down the house. That will teach that lawn not to
play around with us!
In Silence-Afterlife
In Silence-Afterlife
: It’s not their fault but it appears that each of these
ghosts is in their own parallel reality, unaware that any other ghost shares
their space with them. Perhaps, with the exception of the shadow people;
they seem to be aware of everything, since they are always watching...
Dream House Swept Away
Dream House Swept Away
: The fisherman saved up to purchase his
Dream House on the beach back when there was plenty of frontage
between the house and the sea. Big storms came and went without much
damage, but during the last decade or so, the protective dunes collapsed
and the beach eroded in big chunks with every storm. His neighbors had
all given up and move their houses if possible or just abandoned them to
the relentless sea. The fisherman had raised his son in that home, and
neither one wanted to give up on saving it, but now it may be too late for
them to save themselves. The power of the sea has undermined the
foundation and is in the process of sucking the house out to sea. The
spectators on the bluffs above are powerless to help. The captain and first
mate may actually go down with the ship, unless the Coast Guard
helicopter can get there in time.
Dream House Swept Away, detail
Dream House in the Path of a Tornado
Dream House in the Path of a Tornado
: A nighttime EF3 tornado is
bearing down on the farmhouse and there’s nothing that can be done to
stop it, unless an impossible stroke of luck diverts the tornado from its
present path. The family heeded the warnings and are safe in the concrete
storm shelter with their animals. Will their Dream House still be there,
intact, or at least salvageable after the storm has passed? It’s so scary not
knowing what they’ll find once it’s safe to leave the shelter.
Dream House in the Path of a Tornado, detail
Everlasting Haunted House Party
Everlasting Haunted House Party
: This New Year’s Eve party has
been going on continuously for years, and will continue for as long as the
house still stands. Maybe by this point, the physical house structure isn’t
needed, as the party guests are experiencing the house as it was that fateful
day, all done up in party decorations, music blasting and the wine and
cocktails flowing for the adults and Hawaiian Punch for the kids. They
keep reliving those wonderful moments before they all fell asleep and
succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning from that faulty furnace. They
felt no trauma in their passing so they keep on celebrating forever. Note:
The shadow people in the basement aren’t part of the original party. Maybe
they have been there all along, hiding in the dark, peeking around corners,
spying on the living and now the dead. Who are they and where are they
from?
Everlasting Haunted House Party, detail one
Everlasting Haunted House Party, detail two
Architect’s House Plans, Plan 2
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