Captured on Canvas

Hendrick ter Brugghen

Melancolia

(Art Gallery of Ontario)

I was struck by this painting at the Art Gallery of Ontario.  I immediately thought of migraines, rather than its title of Melancolia.    The artist, Hendrick ter Brugghen has perfectly captured the mood.  The woman is in a dark room with her head in her hands.  She is looking at a skull, as though she is searching for an answer as to why this is happening to her.  The candle on the table represents the burning and throbbing pain that this affliction brings.  The flame has a red colour at its tip, which makes the emphasis and focus of that pain even more obvious.

Scene / Seen (Major Stink Eye)

Poe has attitude.   And yes, notice the vast accumulation of books and magazines in the background.  Yikes.

A Tale of Two Cities ----Widow Basquiat: A Love Story (Jennifer Clement)

This book is a very quick read.   The author, Jennifer Clement, combines snippets of Suzanne Mallouck's memories with her own prose.   It is not the traditional biographical recounting, but, rather, a series of vignettes.  It is like sitting around with a friend, reminiscing about a person who is no longer with us.   "Hey, remember the time when.....?"  In so doing, it brings back a time and place that is gone.
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New York City in 1980 was actually two cities.  It was an exciting time for artists of all genres.  There were many clubs and the music scene was diverse.   Artists were making use not only of the lofts that were still affordable in the yet-to-be gentrified districts, but also of the streets themselves.  Graffiti art was making a headway.  Galleries were opening and taking a chance with these new artists.  Andy Warhol mixed with these new artists.
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However, amongst this creative New York was a city of destruction.  The drug market was so open, that the goods would be lowered in a bucket outside of buildings.  There was a lot of coke and heroin making the rounds.  People were just beginning to get ill with what would become known as the AIDS virus.
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Suzanne Mallouck left her abusive father in Canada at an early age.  In this book, her relationship with the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is recounted.  The two of them lived together for a while and she offers the reader some insider knowledge as to the meaning of his paintings.  She met him before he became famous and watched his increasing use of heroin.  Within their circle were people like Rene Ricard, Madonna and Keith Haring.
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This is also the tale of a black man in an Armani suit who could not hail a cab, for they would not stop for him.  Suzanne was friends with Michael Stewart, an unarmed man who died after being stopped by the police.  The book briefly recounts her attempts to seek justice for him.  It discusses why Basquiat took water into a museum and secretly sprinkled water in corners---for there were no black artists hung there.
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Despite her own usage of heroin, Suzanne stopped and went to medical school.  She currently treats addicts.
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As an aside, I am adding information on the Michael Stewart case at the link below:
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Michael Stewart case