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timmyquest
31st of March 2005 (Thu), 22:55
http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/41494629.jpg

My brother John is perhaps the most naturally gifted artist I’ve ever met in my life. I have seen many artists who are far better then he has ever been, but only after years and years of education and practice. My brother has always been different in that even from a very young age he showed signs of brilliance. Roughly 8 years ago he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. As he struggled with his own mind he seemed to struggle with his art. There are only two things about my brother, aside from his overly nice and caring personality, that still seem to be the same as before his disease came to the surface; his love for skateboarding, and his art. In the prime of the disease the walls of our basement became his canvas. He has always had a draw to urban life, everything from urban, lesser known rap (ie…not 50 cent), to his baggy jeans, to his love for urban art. I’ll never advocate some of the places he took this urban form of art…graffiti. But I will say that at one point he was very good at it. Like the rest of his art, this talent of his seemed to fade.

Among the collage of rather odd and confusing tags on the walls of our basement lies this face. Jumbled in a mass of lines and colors that don’t seem to go together, is this scared, lost face. Somehow I think it was a self portrait.

Red
1st of April 2005 (Fri), 02:49
Woah! :(

With the story, that face does indeed seem very sad and poetic. I'm a fan of artistic graffiti. Some of it is mind-blowing, and sometimes made all the more impressive by it's nearly in-accessible location.
I'd love to have a basement decorated by these magnificent street artists.

eastcoast909
1st of April 2005 (Fri), 05:15
TQ:

This is a very haunting image, especially with the story behind it.

Your love and pain for your brother speaks for itself through the story and image.

While we can't change what our family is we can always let them know that we care and love them unconditionally.

Mills
1st of April 2005 (Fri), 06:57
Wow Tim.

timmyquest
1st of April 2005 (Fri), 09:32
Thanks for the feedback, wasnt sure how you guys would take it.

jfrancho
1st of April 2005 (Fri), 09:42
tq, I have a lot to say about this, maybe I'll PM you later. I recognized it for what it was before I even read the post. I'm glad you took the time to share the story behind it. It's a beautiful shot, lovingly created. I don't mean to sound too sappy, but it almost made me cry at work.

Dante King
1st of April 2005 (Fri), 09:43
TQ:

This is a very haunting image, especially with the story behind it.

Your love and pain for your brother speaks for itself through the story and image.

While we can't change what our family is we can always let them know that we care and love them unconditionally.


Well Said! I second that. May God Bless.

Lamplight
2nd of April 2005 (Sat), 09:23
I didn't notice the face when I first viewed this thread. After I read whwat you posted I looked at the picture again and the face immediately jumped right out. It sent a chill down my spine. It is a sad thing, and you captured it perfectly.

timmyquest
2nd of April 2005 (Sat), 15:13
Thanks lamp

HJMinard
2nd of April 2005 (Sat), 15:35
I typically have a difficult time grasping, understanding and deciphering abstract art. For this image, those problems do not apply. Moving, scary and sad. I will pray for your brother.

cmM
2nd of April 2005 (Sat), 16:53
An artist's struggle... very moving image, and very moving story. It's stuff like this that makes me open my eyes sometimes and be thankfull for the things we sometimes take for granted.
Thanks for sharing this.