Lacerado

 

A long time ago my friend Merlin Purpura gave me some of his photos (which I treasured) and I took them with me through several of my incarnations and moves all over the place. As you may know, I love putting up (and wearing) art that somebody I know has created. I think people who are creative and can create art are fantastic. Slightly jealous, I am. 

So the story with these photographs (I think there were three, originally, with one showing the very attractive model's very appealing backside) is that I had them with me during one of my relationships and when that relationship ended, I lost track of the artwork. And it was not only these photos: some silk printings and some woodcut artwork people made especially for me were also lost. Casualties of my stupidity.

You see, I was in a relationship with this one man and he decided to move away to try new things in his job. I stayed in Pittsburgh for a while while he tried the waters in the West Coast. After a while, we moved all the stuff we had in storage from the East Coast to the West Coast in a U-Haul truck. That's been my biggest road trip ever. At the beginning, he was renting a furnished apartment but then he decided to go for an unfurnished one (those apartments are prohibitively expensive!) I stayed with him there for awhile but then things came to a head when he wanted me to leave my graduate program and go live there with him full time. 

I did not want to leave grad school and he did not want to move back to Pittsburgh. Long story short, he broke up with me and a few months later he got it on with a twenty-something year old who was more on his wavelength. I wished him well and moved on. But all my artwork was left there. I only kept some things in the tiny place I called home at the time and never asked for those things back. Not only because after the breakup he tried to get back with me (I don't know what happened to the twenty-four-year-old?) and I said no, but because after I said no he got really mad and emailed all my friends telling them I had taken advantage of him. Yep. It was not friendly. So that was the story behind me losing those prints.

I mentioned to Merlin I wished I would have kept those photos and he, being the awesome person he is, sent me the original files last week for my bday. I'm planning on having them printed sometime soon and I'll be putting them up somewhere (my bedroom, for inspiration?). I know I can find space, given that I live in this basement garden apartment with tons of weird wall space. I love those photos. Merlin used to teach communications and media and he takes fabulous photographs. These are very St. Sebastian, IMHO and I can't wait to have them framed. 

My friends are awesome. I am a very lucky person.

XOXO

P.S. I think the best part of this story is the email he sent me, which defies translation, really. So I won't do that because it's way too fab in its natural state. But suffice it to say that it brought a tear to my eye and a smile to my face:

Considerando:

Que hoy es su cumple;

que Usted tenía y admiraba estas obras;

Que para el autor es un orgullo que Su Mercé las tenga;

Que en tiempos de pandemia los servicios postales son una tortura (y unas tortugas);

Que con la tecnología es más eficiente reenviarle un apreciado regalito (aunque hubiese preferido regalárselo ya impreso);

Resuelvo unilateralmente:

Artículo Único:

Enviar por este medio copias originales de Lacerado 1 y Lacerado 2, para que a bien disponga ordenar su impresión en Oduperly o donde Usted considere oportuno, exhibirlas en sus aposentos y disfrutar su observación. 

Parágrafo:

Unirse a los regocijos públicos por su onomástico, enviándole un caluroso y apretado abrazo.

Comuníquese y cúmplase.

Dado en Zaragoza, Aragón, España, a los veintiún días del mes de marzo, del año del Señor 2021.

Firmado, MP.