Julie's Statement
I lived with my grandparents and a large extended family in a wonderful house in Waterville, New York. The winters were very long, but we had many interesting visitors from all over the world who came to see my grandfather. The art, sculptures and wallpapers in that house have been given to various museums. A few pieces are still privately held. The power of this collection still lives in my mind as a standard.
I “found” the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Frick and the MOMA, Carnegie Hall, the “old” Met and Broadway. I watched the Guggenheim being built. My stepfather filled the house with people whose lives were devoted to the arts and were pro-actively working their talents. I spent every spare moment wandering around, looking and talking to people, going to shows and concerts, feasting on the Arts.
People tell me I have a joyous palette. I do. Color has power that is beyond understanding until you see its effects. I think that “reality” is misunderstood.
When people say, “Get real!” What they really mean is, see the worst, say what’s hurtful, paint what’s ugly. Is despair more real than joy? I prefer to embrace the sunrise, smell the flowers and love my family. I believe in a vigorous life process.
“The Scream,” “Guernica” and other great works give us an awakening and a frame of reference we didn’t have before they were painted, but if a person hangs pain and misery on the walls, if those negative sensations greet even the most fleeting glance, then that becomes the awareness. If there are positive luminous images then our thoughts are refreshed.
About Julie
Tower Homestead, Waterville, NY
