"WHEN ARE YOU COMING TO VISIT?" by Melissa Markowitz

A SCULPTURE THAT HELPS RAISE PUBLIC AWARENESS ABOUT ELDERLY NEGLECT ...

According to the artist "When are you Coming to Visit?", is a community based artwork designed to bring people together in thought and awareness of the neglect given to those who "formed" what came before us. It is a sculpture of an elderly woman patiently sitting, never losing hope that someone will come visit her. The day may end with not one visitor but her smile of optimism never fades, always having hope for the events of tomorrow. But she isn't just here to remind us to approach each day positively; this sculpture is dedicated to our community and to all who cross her path. Visitors will have to seek her out in her location in the landscaped area in the front of City Hall.

The artwork will be documented day by day, month by month as "she" weathers away, literally and metaphorically. The sculpture's purpose is to bring awareness to the community of the neglect given to those who have critically shaped us as individuals and as a nation, our elderly. We often neglect the elderly, those who raised us and mentored us. Just one phone call, a visit, a letter, or a postcard can make someone's day. Let "Us" as a community stop this neglect.

The artist's concept is a reminder not to put things off for tomorrow. It is a reminder to do what is right. Everything ages with time: loved ones, ideas, passions and goals.  This sculpture is a tool to build more respect for the elderly and also as a reminder to throw away "procrastination."

Fine art performance artist Melissa Markowitz is a native of South Florida. She received her Bachelor of Fine Art in Sculpture and exhibits regularly throughout South Florida. Her artwork is based on characters which she sculpts and performs. She has performed as the character from the above sculpture at the Hollywood Art and Cultural Center. She has also exhibited in numerous national shows and won several awards and received recognition for her costume and makeup design of her characters. Through her performance and sculpture, Markowitz wishes to bring an awareness and push individuals to be reminded of what they already know but lost, or what they do not yet realize. Markowitz is an active member in the community, constantly seeking avenues to bring people together.

For more information, contact Art in Public Places Public Art Administrator Debby Coles-Dobay at (561) 742 - 6026.

Melissa Markowitz 
7040 NW 62 Terrace, Parkland, FL. 33067
(828) 446-2158
mtmarkowitz@gmail.com
www.melissamarkowitz.net

Statement and Biography

Born and raised in South Florida, educated in private schools where I was the victim of social privilege, I was always aware that, for some reason, I had a different kind of social consciousness from my peers.    Unlike a social conscience, which relates to economic and political awareness, social consciousness relates to the manner in which people relate to themselves and each other.  As a high school student, I didn't frame that thought consciously; I merely knew that I was "way" different from the people around me. 

Once I escaped from the privileged environment of the private school milieu, and landed in a liberal college campus, I realized that I perceived social relationships from a completely different perspective:  the outsider looking in.  I am something of a comedian, with a droll, dry sense of humor that is often expressed through personal rebellion, which often creates a wonderful cognitive dissonance when the audience contrasts my youthful, ugh, innocent appearance with some of the blatant themes with which I work.   We comedian often extract the content for our subject matter from the circumstances of our lives.  We compile sets of rivaling lyrics to metaphorically and humorously compare our personal lives with the lives of the people around us, comparing the internal "I"  with the outside "they".

My underlying focus drives itself from human interaction and the humor cantors itself from my satirical intentions. My intentions are not to be rile but the most humorous scenes excrete themselves from inferior interrogation. The awkward, unspoken moments between people trying to communicate has become a large inspiration. I begin with the facial expression ,or narrative and branch the physical relationship downward, reacting with the psychological interaction with the environmental setting.