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The Artist's Choice

For the average American, life is like a buffet. There are endless options for every activity of our lives. Five minutes after I wake up I’m confronted with the results of the endless choices I have made on my excursions to the market and other shopping ventures. I have my favorite brand of coffee, the filters that work just right with the amazing super brew coffee pot I purchased, and any one of three of my favorite mugs to drink from. I have probably 10-15 mugs in my cabinet but I have narrowed my personal choices down to three, each serving a slightly different function suited for my coffee intake needs for the moment. Let us not forget the creamer. No longer am I stuck with plain milk or cream but every variety imaginable is available for my taste buds.

Life is significantly different for the clients of the Arts Access Program, all of them having some form of a “medically complex medical disability.” In laymen’s terms this means they are generally confined to wheelchairs, often not being able to use their hands, and more often than not, not being able to speak with their mouths. It is easy to imagine at this point life becomes more than a little difficult, and all of the options that are available to the average American are narrowed down in a hurry. The basic choices that would be available to an individual are made instead by aides, care assistants, or medical professionals.

Arts Access is founded on the principle of freedom of choice. We enable our clients to make every decision, no matter how long it takes. Any choice that will affect the outcome of their creative works is theirs and theirs alone to make, even when their decisions pain us as facilitators and artists.

When I started working at Arts Access one of the first individuals I worked with is a man by the name of Mike M., who communicates by looking up for “yes” and looking down for “no.” The painting he was working on at the time had been in progress for over three years, so it was well under way by the time I was ready to facilitate with Mike. It was a very intricate piece, about 5 feet long by 1.5 feet tall, with lots of small geometric shapes, several areas of texture, and a myriad of colors. Then one day Mike indicated that he wanted to cover the entire canvas with purple, flat and smooth and as solid as it could be. My stomach dropped. Needing to remain neutral to his creative process, I assured him that the choice was his to make. I did make him aware that once it was covered up that none of his previous work would show through. I clarified with him that that was exactly what he wanted done.

He responded with a big “eyes up.” I turned around, crying on the inside, and covered this beautiful work with purple paint, as Mike had specifically directed me to do. I knew that once this move was done there would be no going back. But as is true for every artist, his art is his and the choice is his.

For three more years Mike worked on that same canvas, with myself and several other facilitators. When he finally deemed that it was finished, what I saw before me was one of the most beautiful paintings that I had ever seen. It was every bit as detailed and intricate as it was before, but had a quality the previous incarnation did not. This piece, after almost seven years in production, is one of the most visually successful paintings that I have had the pleasure to assist with. The piece was chosen to be the showcase artwork for the Arts Access Program’s yearly event Full Circle 2008, which also celebrated the program’s 15th anniversary.

I can’t help but think if I would have intruded on his choice and made him work on another canvas, I would have inadvertently destroyed a masterpiece without ever knowing it. Of course, if I had done that, I would have gone against the very core of Arts Acccess principles, and could not call myself an Arts Access facilitator.

 

by Keith Garletts, Arts Access Facilitation Coordinator

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The Matheny Medical and Educational Center

65 Highland Avenue

Peapack, NJ 07977

Tel. 908.234.0011