Homeless have brush with art world
Mike
THE WASHINGTON TIMES http://www.washtimes.com/entertainment/
Eugene Talbert doesn´t own a house with a lawn to mow. He has no
property tax bills to pay or even a zip code. He´s like a lot of
homeless people that way.
What he does have is the freedom to watch the world go by and
paint the things that move him.
He´s not a graduate of the Sorbonne; he´s a graduate of Miriam´s
Kitchen, a place where the homeless can eat a hearty breakfast. With
just a charcoal pencil and sketch pad, he has managed to become a pro:
In addition to the $150 he got for one of his sketches, he probably
will make more money this week during the collaborative art exhibit
"Different Strokes: Art From the Streets" at the Armour J. Blackburn
University Center Gallery at Howard University, where several of his
pieces hang.
There have been other cases where art has arisen from the most
unlikely places. Longshoreman Eric Hoffer became a celebrity
philosopher during the late 1960s using just what he picked up from
working the docks to forge his view of the world. The result:
television appearances and a best-selling book, "The True Believer,"
which is considered a classic on social philosophy.
That´s not to say that this will happen to Mr. Talbert, 50, but
it does show what can happen when someone, through whatever
circumstances, becomes a witness to life.
"I´ve been drawing since 1998. Before that I didn´t have an
interest in either art or poetry. My interest was sparked when I was
sitting in art class at Miriam´s Kitchen and everybody was drawing,
but I wasn´t," Mr. Talbert says.
"But I kept coming to the classes, and one day I picked up a
pencil and started to draw, and I kept at it. Now I´m doing something
that I enjoy. It´s positive and creative. This is a big awakening for
me."
A congenial and chatty fellow, Mr. Talbert has broadened his
artistic scope, once confined to pencil. He now incorporates
watercolors into his grand schemes or landscapes. He´s eager to see
how far his newfound passion can take him. He says it´s not
inconceivable that he might take a few formal art classes in the
future. Besides, Mr. Talbert works when he can -- cutting grass in
Silver Spring or bringing coffee to District vendors in need of a jolt
to start their days.
"I still live outside in the Foggy Bottom area, where it´s safe
and we have the best park police, and the Metro is nearby. I have
peace and quiet, and I can draw the whole world and write poetry," he
says.
Mr. Talbert´s artwork is showcased at the Blackburn Center
Gallery along with the work of 29 other artists from Miriam´s Kitchen.
Also included in the exhibit is a five-panel mural created by District
school students, by Public Allies -- a nonprofit organization that
develops leadership in youth -- and by the artists from Miriam´s
Kitchen. Some artists, like Mr. Talbert, are homeless; others were
homeless. Three persons whose work is exhibited are now deceased, says
Ruth Dickey, the executive director of Miriam´s Kitchen since 1998.
Ms. Dickey, 29, a former Vista volunteer, came to Miriam´s
Kitchen in 1994. She loved writing and decided to establish a writers
workshop for the breakfast bunch. (On any given day, 80 to 150 people
get a good meal at Western Presbyterian Church, where Miriam´s Kitchen
is located.) That same year, an artists workshop, moderated by
volunteer and artist Sylvia Van Voorthuizen, took shape. Three years
ago, Ms. Dickey added a second poetry and writers workshop with
Caroline Ramsay Merriam.
"What´s so striking about the artwork in the exhibit is that many
of them are portraits. In both the writing and artwork, there´s a wide
diversity of themes that go far beyond homelessness. The pieces run
the gamut, and that´s what most people find surprising," Ms. Dickey
says.
"Homeless people are people first," she says.
Her sentiment is seconded by Roberta McLeod, curator and director
of the Blackburn Center Gallery. When a venue to showcase the art was
needed, Ms. McLeod didn´t think twice. The university is part of the
community and here to serve the community, she says.
"I believe people should understand the face of homelessness
because the faces of the homeless are no different from anyone else,"
the curator says.
Ms. Dickey says one of the participants in the writing group
once remarked that people would walk by him all day and pretend not to
see him. He told how dehumanized and isolated he felt. That´s why
"Different Strokes," means so much, Ms. Dickey says.
"For that individual or for any of our artists to have a chance
to display their artwork or share their poetry gives them a chance to
be heard. One night, after a public reading, this particular man said,
'Tonight, I remembered I exist.´ It transformed the way he felt about
himself," Ms. Dickey says.
The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, an
umbrella organization in Southeast that oversees the range of care
services for homeless people living in the District, estimates that on
any given night 6,600 people in the District are homeless. That number
includes people in shelters, in transitional houses and doubled up
with friends and family.
"Out of that 6,600, 10 percent are actually sleeping on the
streets. At Miriam´s, about 70 to 80 percent of our breakfast guests
are sleeping on the streets. So we serve sort of a unique segment of
people who are homeless in the District," Ms. Dickey says.
"We can measure how we are doing as a city by the way we treat
our homeless, our poorest and our most vulnerable. I can´t begin to
tell you how many fascinating, intelligent and competent people I´ve
met who live on the streets. I believe they desire adequate resources
-- not just breakfast, but an adequate life," she says.
The artwork will hang at Howard´s Blackburn Center Gallery in the
company of work by one of the great 20th-century painters and social
commentators, Romare Bearden, through June 9. Ms. Dickey says that
should a piece sell, 70 percent of the proceeds will go directly to
the artist. The remaining 30 percent will go to Miriam´s Kitchen to
pay for art supplies and framing. That´s the agreement the artists
decided upon, she says. They want to give something back.
On Thursdays between 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., Ms. Merriam, known as
"C.C.," gathers with 10 to 15 self-taught poets at Miriam´s Kitchen.
It´s her avocation and one that she says gives her great pleasure.
"They all have promise, but some are extraordinarily gifted and
write great poetry. ...They write poems about how people feel about
the homeless, and we touch on controversial subjects, which lead to
lively discussion groups," Ms. Merriam says.
Ms. Merriam, who lives in Georgetown, has compiled anthologies of
her students´ work since 1998. Other anthologies are published by
Miriam´s Kitchen. This year´s, "167 Wednesdays/167 Thursdays,"
intersperses pictures of the artwork along with the poetry. The
collective effort gives members of the poetry and writers workshops
and the visual artists an extra boost of self-esteem and a sense of
accomplishment. They´re no different from anyone else.
"They like to receive compliments and praise it affirms them.
They talk about writing as a means of creativity. That creative spark
makes them feel like they are worthy," Ms. Merriam says.