'DISCARDED ANCESTORS' SHOWING AT CANISIUS COLLEGE

"DISCARDED ANCESTORS' is a series of collages based on photos I discovered thrown out in front of a demolished house on Buffalo's East Side. I combined them with my present time photographs and framed them in recycled wood. The exhibition is in the Peter A. and Mary Lou Vogt Gallery at Bouwhuis Library at Canisius College. An opening reception with be held on Friday, September 9, 2016 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.

WHY I DO THIS WORK
After the birth of her third child in 1922, my grandmother, Katherine, fell into a deep postpartum depression. Her husband, Casper, unable to cope with her illness, committed her to the Foxboro Asylum in Massachusetts for the rest of her life.  This was the era before the development of psychotropic drugs.  Difficult family members could be confined in “Kirkbrand” style asylums and never seen again. Most of these places, located all over the Northeastern United States, are now closed and abandoned. 

My sad family history rippled out in many destructive ways over the next generations. I only discovered our ‘dark, shameful’ secret by accident when I was 22 and Katherine had died.  Suddenly, so much of our uncomfortable family atmosphere made sense to me.

Looking back, I realize why I am attracted to the discarded parts of society, whether it is a collection of old photos, an abandoned house or factory, a group of marginalized people or trash thrown out into our waterways. I see art as a way to shed light in neglected corners.