The next song 'Five Room Love Story' (a sad quiet ballad)
(more like the Junkies sing)
from RARITIES, B-SIDES AND SLOW, SAD WALTZES
maplemusic.com
is about a 75yr guy who being heartbroke over the loss of his wife of so many years, decorates his entire 5-room flat in NYC with hearts, shells and beads:
Joseph Furey's creation, however, was the real thing: a pedestrian railroad transformed into a wondrous and joyful work of art. We stood inside the narrow walkup with mouths agape, along with the three representatives of the Museum of American Folk Art, Didi Barrett, then editor of the Museum's Clarion quarterly, who had boldly used its pages to champion contemporary grassroots art sites, linking them with the tradition established by 19th century folk artists; assistant editor Willa Rosenberg, and Museum fellow Lee Kogan. The walls were teeming with stippled dots of black, green, beige, and red paint, covering thousands of clam shells and hand-cut cardboard shapes: bow-ties (and the negative space left from those cut-outs), hearts, cross shapes, and diamonds. Plaster birds, on tiny pedestals, edged the walls, like pigeons lining a work-site. Mussel shells, spread open to resemble butterflies, were bordered by colored tile and chips of mirror, lima beans, and glass beads. Bits of collage -- pictures of monkeys, butterflies, and dogs -- dotted the wallpaper landscape mural.
Bob set up his tripod and began to shoot. Medow toured the rooms, testing areas damaged by water, studying browned glue and cemented-filled shells nailed to plaster.
Much to our surprise, Joseph Furey and his son (also named Joe) suddenly arrived. Vigorous, with a dry wit, the tall, formally-attired artist answered questions from his new admirers. Joe Jr. occasionally added his own observations.
He was born in Camden, New Jersey, said Joe Sr., but soon after, his family returned to Newfoundland, their ancestral home. His wife was also of Newfoundland heritage, though the two met in the United States, and lived here for more than fifty years. More than forty of those, he added, were spent in the Prospect Park apartment.
A light-heavyweight prizefighter in his youth, the elder Furey still had tremendous stamina, said his son. Joe Sr. had produced the vast majority of his wall art over a six year period, beginning at age 75, when his life changed dramatically. His wife had died, and the men he used to gather with in the park, fellow unionists with whom he talked and played cards, had begun to pass away. (In the Newfoundland card game, "Auction," hearts were trump, explained Joe Jr., looking over to walls dotted with hearts.) His father was lonely, he said, but didn't want to leave the area.
outsider.art.org
and an article about that from one of the newspapers:
cowboyjunkies.com |
