Sunday, May 19, 2013

Do Artists Realize?

I thought I would get out of it.

I heard it was supposed to thunderstorm, but the skies remained dry and clear throughout the morning.

My wife wanted to go to NorthEast Mpls.

She wanted to go to Art-O-Whirl.

Art-O-Whirl, if you have never heard of it, is a hipster part of town where all the middle class Bohemian wannabes live.

Each year they cover a huge territory where basically every business turns itself into an art gallery.

Funeral Parlors, Dentists, Liquor Stores...you name it, all of these places convert these spaces into art galleries.

In theory.....it is kinda cool, however....in practical application, I just saw literally thousands of people sitting on uncomfortable stools hoping just one of the sweaty event attendants would stop and purchase one of their masterpieces.

So Sue McGleno pretty much stops at every jewelry stand right?

And our romantic stroll lessened in romance.

The air was heavy -

The humidity was off the charts -

But being that it was an official date.....

I had to act as if I actually was enjoying myself.

So Lo and Behold, by hook or by crook..........

I noticed that my wife and I were standing on the threshold of the Grain Belt building.

I hadn't been there in over a year and a half.

I hadn't stepped foot in this place since Finley and I preformed the Bavarian Oratorio.

As guys with head bands and man purses passed me in the hallway, I chuckled as I stood outside the room where Mike and I preformed our masterpiece.

I think we drank over 400 beers during script writing sessions.  

It was supposed to be a big deal, something epic that would change the world.......

We played angels that were flawed but loveable, and together....we'd set humanity on fire with beauty and wisdom that typically you can only get in the celestial kingdom.

The only problem was..............

Only 3 people came, none of which came with intent.

These people were holiday shoppers that simply wanted to rest their feet, and when Finley and I went into character....LOL, their sinful nature must have convicted them because they just got weird looks on their face and got the hell out.

So now, today in this same room sat a man.

He was in the back of the room.

He was seated with an older man.

The guys spoke English, but if my ears were accurate, I'm guessing they had Italian accents.

The younger guy, the artist was lamenting how he gave up his futball career to work with marble.

While he was explaining this, I saw a piece I liked.

I even flirted with thinking about buying it.

So I walked into the presence of their conversation.

"Blah-Blah-Blah-Blah-Blah-Blah."

The guy, even though I am right in front of him continues feeling sorry for himself......

"I gave it all up, all of it. That's how much I love this medium, that's how much I want to make this work, but I need to find a way to turn my passion into sales."

Tap=Tap-Tap

Goes the sound of patient Danny Klecko's foot.

I mean seriously......I am practically giving the guy a lap dance.

My head continues to swivel between the piece I wanted to maybe buy, and the artist.

Back-Forth and Back Forth....I was so Linda Blair by this time.

The artist continued.......

"If people just understood that marble is so much more than sculptures, or reliefs for that matter. Marble can transcend these camps and create paintings like................."

I laughed out loud.

The old man looked up at me in wonder, but the artist......he just continued do his best to figure out a way he could get people interested in his passion.

Sigh