2.3.12 Art & History: The Legacy We Leave

A couple of days ago, on Jan. 31, I painted this fox on a mailbox. Since moving to Nicollet Island, I have enjoyed working on and completing various art projects. This one was inspired by the fox whose tracks I came upon one day, and whom I spotted in the flesh, or rather, in the fur, some days later as he wandered about on the frozen Mississippi, heckled by crows.


I'd never before painted a fox on a mailbox. I'd never painted anything on a mailbox. You just never know what you can do until you try. And that, I guess, is a maxim according to which I've pretty much always lived my life. I've always been open to trying new things, and am saddened when I think of all the people who are not, and consequently miss out on a lot of rich experiences and self-discovery.

I'm convinced that some of the most talented artists, musicians, writers and thinkers live their entire lives without ever knowing the power which, all along, they have carried within. My own talents may not fall under any superlative headings, but cultivating them has brought joy and rich feelings of achievement into my life, which are not bad things to carry during this all-too-temporary sojourn on planet Earth. If anything I've done or produced has brought joy into the lives of others, so much the better--I think that, if nothing else, we should try to leave this world just a tiny bit more beautiful than it was when we arrived, a tiny bit happier, wiser, better. And that is how we ourselves should be when we depart: just a tiny bit happier, wiser, and more beautiful--in some tiny but meaningful way, better.

Some of my posts include a certain amount of historical data pertaining to Nicollet Island, but I lay no claims to being a legitimate historian, nor is such my primary purpose in writing this blog. I write this blog to record my impressions of the environment in which I now find myself, the meditations provoked by those impressions, and to some extent, an account of what my experience has been like, and is like, in downsizing from an entire house (of my own) to a 600-square-foot rented apartment which I share with another person. I hope to gain, and provide, some insights into the attempt to live an uncluttered, minimalistic existence, and what it is like to do so with one foot in a city and the other on an isolated piece of land in the Mississippi River, adjacent to that city.

The island has its own legitimate historians, and I leave the record of all its verified and authenticated historical data in their capable hands. Their names are Christopher and Rushika Hage, and they are my near neighbors. I had the pleasure of making their acquaintance on Halloween when they were out trick-or-treating with their children. They are the authors of two books which, together, comprise a rich history of Nicollet Island. Here is a glimpse into both books, each with its official summary (not written by me), and links to where you may purchase them:

Above St. Anthony Falls, in the middle of the Mississippi River, hidden in the heart of Minneapolis, lies Wita Waste (beautiful island). Named Wita Waste by Dakota Indians, it is known now as Nicollet Island, the only inhabited island in the Mississippi. Over the centuries, it has been a sacred birthing place, at the center of the lumber and flour-milling industries that built Minneapolis, and involved in the collapse of the Eastman tunnel, which almost doomed those industries. One of Minneapolis's largest fires, the great conflagration of 1893, started there. It has been the home of pioneers, veterans, elite barons of the Gilded Age, Roman Catholic monks, hippies, artists, vagrants, and donkeys. Many of their houses still remain, preserving Minneapolis's architectural heritage. Nicollet Island has been at the center of numerous controversies ranging from its original land claim to proposals to locate the state capitol there, to, more recently, the threatened demolition of its historic houses. Nicollet Island is the history of Minnesota in miniature, and its tale is one of beauty, romance, disaster, and conflict.

PURCHASE HERE: http://tinyurl.com/78ggeey


The photos and stories contained in Nicollet Island tell the history of Minnesota in miniature--a tale of beauty, romance, disaster, and conflict. Nicollet Island lies at the heart of old Minneapolis, and its buildings are steeped in history. Authors (and island residents) Christopher and Rushika Hage tell the story of the island and its inhabitants over the centuries.

[For whatever reasons, there is not much of a summary provided for this book, which focuses on the architectural aspect of the homes and buildings which have stood on Nicollet Island through the years.]

PURCHASE HERE:
http://tinyurl.com/7mtcs37




While my writings and art may not endure to enlighten people centuries from now on what life was like for me here, in the 21st century, on Nicollet Island, I am content to continue doing what lies within my feeble capacity to leave this world, this city, this island, a tiny bit more beautiful that it was when I arrived.

Life flows on, in and around us—what lives today is succeeded by what lives tomorrow, and all we have is what we have today, and what we leave for tomorrow.

D.E.S.