does the wall a piece is on determine if it is art? for that matter, does the building the wall is in add weight to the determination?

so, something funny happened this weekend. in reality, something happens nearly every minute around here…not necessarily funny ha ha all the time, sometimes funny in a i-just-took-a-gulp-of-rancid-orange-juice-and-didn’t-know-it sort of way.

frank drew a picture of someone. i know, you’re totally shocked, right? stay with me. after he drew the picture, he gave the picture to the person he drew IN the picture. in this case, it was a neat cartoonish caricature of a local merchant we frequently do business with. once the merchant saw the unexpected gift, his face lit up…the staff around him lit up…everyone who hadn’t been smiling smiled— because of a piece of art.

yeah, i said it. a piece of art.

the merchant said he would get the piece framed and hang it right behind his deli counter— on a wall near his meat slicer.

after all the thanks were exchanged and we left, frank said something that made me like him a little bit more than i did before. he said, “my work hanging on that man’s wall means more to me than if it were hanging in any museum or gallery. more people would probably see that in one day than a month in a museum.”

now, call it arrogance…call it sarcasm… call it whatever… he meant that. i think because he knew that people would appreciate his work, would be entertained by his work and would feel better because they saw his work…while patiently waiting for their pound of hard salami. everyone could understand it. that’s not to say that the same piece wouldn’t get the same response if it were in a gallery, but it probably wouldn’t.

i suppose a cut out cartoon on a refrigerator or bulletin board satisfies frank much more than being in a gallery. i can respect that. it’s not that one means more than the other, it’s all about comfort…ease of inclusion.

great, now i have a craving for salami.