Tag Archives: art

Not Just Kids

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The young lives of Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe were anything but normal. As young adults the two braved disease and drugs, madness and starvation… all in the heart of New York City. Lovers and artists and visionaries, the two were anything but ‘Just Kids’.

I am loving reading Just Kids. The world of Patti Smith seems at times almost surreal; the stuff of legends. Her encounters and exploits could fill many different lifetimes and she goes through things that I’ve never imagined having to face. At the same time, though, I feel as if I can relate to her. She moved away from her family, venturing into New York City with very little idea of what her future would hold. I sympathize with her longing for art and her wish to be a creative, creating soul. I feel for her struggle maintaining steady employment. I understand her love for Robert, and their loyalty to eachother through it all.

I think all of us can find part of ourselves in Just Kids. Its events took place years ago in the 60s and 70s, and the music, clothes, and politics were all different. One thing, however, never changes. We are all humans with human faults. We all struggle sometimes. We all face trying times.

“Transforming Insignificant Bits… Into a Visual Poem”

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In the first few chapters of Patti Smith’s memoir, we watch her and Robert Mapplethorpe develop as artists and people. They have not yet even discovered their potential in the fields that would eventually make them famous—Patti in Rock and Roll, and Robert in photography. They go through many different stages in such short time, as represented by the many times Patti would return home to find that Robert had redecorated the apartment. There’s a sense of confusion and even madness in the story at some points as Patti and Robert attempt to find themselves and make sense of the world—as though they are “just kids”. Through all their changes, one thing remains true for Patti and Robert—they are artists. Not only are they artists in their work, but in their mindset and lifestyle as well.

Being starving artists, they are forced to make do with what little resources are available to them. What I found particularly interesting were the descriptions of things they created or put together, not for the purpose of making art, but for everyday life. For example, as a gift for Patti, Robert makes a tambourine and decorates it. Even more practical examples can be seen in their home décor. Along with Robert’s sporadic redecorations of their bedroom, the couple uses random furniture found off the side of the streets to personalize their apartment. They hang drawings and religious artifacts, and Patti has her own study corner with a “frayed magic carpet”. For Christmas time, Robert even makes a wooden manger to be used in place of a tree. Robert also put a lot of effort into making Joseph Cornell boxes that Patti describes as “transforming insignificant bits … into a visual poem.” I see each of these things as art, and, with those words, Patti could not have described them better.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

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A picture is worth a thousand words.

No, this book has shown me that this is an extreme understatement. The pictures in Shaun Tan’s The Arrival hold so much power and emotion that words could never convey. I am lucky to be able to say I did not have to face the hardships that the main character of this graphic novel did. Nevertheless, as I “read” through the pages, I was overwhelmed with a feeling that I could somehow relate to him.

The images are frank and comprehensible.  The emotions the characters displayed were blatant, but still moving to the point of sympathy. The minute details throughout the pages, like the scratches on a wooden table and the crinkle of a piece of paper, added to the realistic nature of the work. I was able to get lost in the story just as I would have for any movie or novel.

I guess its funny that I consider the drawings realistic, because the pictures of monsters and strange creatures and the peculiar depiction of the city surely are not realistic. Tan uses these motifs to add perspective to the story. For example, Tan uses distorted characters instead of real English letters to share with the reader a sensation of foreignness and unfamiliarity. Likewise, the odd city to us is what this new place was to the main character.

This story could not have been told better through any way other than images. We are not given words to be told the story the same way the main character did not have the language he needed as he lived through it. We, like the main character, desperately try to read lips and faces to be able to tell what is going on and what is to happen next. Tan brilliantly crafted these parallels in emotion, creating this remarkable piece.