Last year, Fayetteville artist John
Fitzsimmons endured the emotional undulation of watching a relative
with a terminal illness slowly fade away. Fitzsimmons, 55, had painted
several representations of the human form, but the appearance of calm
on his relative’s face when presented with the ultimate fate conveyed a
sense of realism yet unseen. It’s one he is hoping to bring to the
canvas.
Fitzsimmons is searching for 40 to 50
subjects who know they will be passing away soon for a series that will
feature oil-painted portraits to be exhibited upon completion as well
as published in book form. “It occurred to me that it would be a
tremendous project that would allow the subject to tell a nonverbal
story,” said Fitzsimmons during a recent phone interview, “and it would
be a great experience for me as an artist, but it would also be a show
with meaning to it.”
He’s hoping to finish the project in one
year, working at no charge, and he would travel to the subject’s
location. When the work is completed, he will provide a replica of the
portrait to the family; if you are interested, or know someone who
might be, call Fitzsimmons at 449-0978.
“I wanted to pick a time in someone’s
life when all the bullshit is gone,” continued Fitzsimmons. “At that
stage, you can’t deny where you are and pretend everything is going to
be all right, which is not necessarily a negative thing.”
The subjects will all be painted on the
same size canvas posed in a uniform fashion, which serves to minimize
the differences and highlight the similarities this spiritually
transitive stage encompasses. “With everything presented in a similar
way it slows it down to what is there,” he continued, “and what I see
in that short time would boil down to the essence of that person’s true
self.”
Fitzsimmons has yet to contact any local
galleries about potentially exhibiting the project, but he hopes he
will be able to show it locally before taking it on the road for
cross-country exposure. Painting scenes of nature and figurative works
predominantly with oil colors, his art has been featured in galleries
in Virginia, Tennessee and New York City with local presentations
gracing the walls of the Edgewood Gallery and the Earlville Opera
House. Currently, his Secret Garden installation is on extended
loan at the Stone Quarry Hill Art Park in Cazenovia and he has
scheduled exhibitions at the Edgewood and the Delavan Art Gallery for
next spring.
Knocking on heaven’s door: John Fitzsimmons seeks people who know they are nearing death for a portrait session.
His only methods of recruitment for his
“end of life” work-in-progress project thus far have been word of mouth
and a classified ad placed in The New Times; hey, it got our
attention. And because of patient confidentiality regulations,
Fitzsimmons is not able to—nor does he want to—take the inappropriate
approach of scouring local infirmaries. As a result, he is having
trouble finding people to paint.
The Hospice of Central New York, 990
Seventh North St., Liverpool (634-1100), is a palliative care facility
for anyone with a prognosis of six months to live. Hospice abides
strictly by patient confidentiality guidelines and while they would not
endorse nor help assist an artist with a similar undertaking as
Fitzsimmons, they are not against the idea either.
“We are very protective of our patients
and their families and it’s certainly something that would be their
choice if they hear about it,” said Hospice of CNY communications
manager Joanne Lenweaver, when asked if she believed this would be
something therapeutic for patients under care. “The one thing that we
realize after working with over 1,000 patients a year is that every
patient is different.”
--Tom Kahley
