The Christmas house

I was on my way to the grocery store today and had a little minute so I stopped at one of my favorite houses on 45th Street.

The owner came out while I was taking pictures of the Christmas house. There's a sign on the railing that says Merry Christmas and an artificial tree in the corner of the porch.

He says that he has been living in this house for thirty years.

There are dolphin wind chimes, pin wheels, artificial flowers, Jesus pictures and bible verses all over the porch. In the windows are statuary. Indians and rosy-cheekd boys, blonde dolls. The owner says that his wife has hundreds of these statues. Cast brass ones, rubber ones as well as the porcelain pieces in the window.

Sometimes people, all on their own, create what some artists strive for and never quite achieve. This is their life, right out where the world can see it. The meanings are obscure because the language is so personal that it does not invite dialogue but instead raises questions.

The objects in this display are there because they have specific meanings to the owners of the house. They aren't looking for understanding or to make anybody think about Indians and caucasians in a new way. Chances are they just liked these statues at different times in their long lives.