Tayari's Blog: Franco, My Love!

Posted by TayariJones on May 11, 2008 11:53 AM
Filed under Living For The City

I am so crazy about the artwork of Franco Mondini Ruiz. I had never Mine All Mine!heard of him until Rigoberto-- who knows everything-- took me to a gallery in Chelsea to see Franco's work. When I walked in, I saw the painting you see on the right. It's called "The Goya Gown" and I fell for it, hard. It was love at first sight. If I may risk over-sharing.. have you ever met someone and part of your attraction to the person is that you can see yourself in him? (Or maybe that means I am just a narcissistic freak.) Anyway, this is what happened with me and the painting. And then there's more.

I didn't just see myself, I saw Dana, the main character of my new novel, THE OUTSIDE CHILD. The painting (larger picture here) is of a white, debutante style dress against a black background. I summarized it as "anger with ribbons." I think many of us know the feeling of resenting a standard while still striving to it. I was going on and on about the painting to the man standing next to me. I told him about my books. I told him about myself, about my family and why I loved the painting so much.

He told me that Sandra Cisneros is one of the artist's major collectors. I said I was glad to see that MacArthur money to good use. I loved the painting, but I could never afford it. I was sure the gallery does not allow layaway! The man laughed. Then he introduced himself as Franco Mondini Ruiz, the artist. "We can work something out," he said.

Forgive the snobby tone of the NYT article, but you can see what a good person Franco is. He thinks art should be for everyone.

Well, to make a long story short: I now own the painting! Now here is the question. Does it go in my bedroom, or the writing room!

(I just found this fascinating oral history of Franco and his family.)

[divider]

There are 1 comments on "Franco, My Love!". If you'd like to leave a comment, click here to jump down to the comments entry form.

Comment #1, by Michael Fischer [TypeKey Profile Page]

I really like this post! I feel the same way about certain paintings (I have 1-2 in mind), and a few albums in relation to my own work. Writing a novel--isn't in many ways like painting a portrait, or putting together an album?

May 12, 2008 12:39 AM

Your Comments

You are signed in as (sign out)

Please keep comments relevant to the topic. Inappropriate and offensive comments may be edited and/or removed without warning. Comments found on this site don't necessarily reflect the views of Tayari Jones.

(optional)

(required)