WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.999
[music]

00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:09.999
What happens to people whose lives
are unexpectedly transformed

00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:14.999
by traumatic injury to the
brain or spinal cord?

00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:19.999
How do they cope with this
confusing life altering change?

00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:24.999
What instincts for survival

00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:29.999
and for self expression can lead
them to a productive new life?

00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:34.999
Art has given me a new lease on

00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:39.999
life.

00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:44.999
This is the story of new
neighbors, struggling to

00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:49.999
recover in a new environment, and of
a remarkable program that provides a

00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:54.999
bridge to a new sense of themselves.
That bridge is art.

00:00:55.000 --> 00:01:03.000
[music]

00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:14.999
It\'s like a dream. I was
heading out to Amagansett.

00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:19.999
I was taking my vacation.
It was July 14th, and I was

00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:24.999
going out to the Hamptons, because my brother has a
home there. And I worked that day. It was a Saturday

00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:29.999
. And you know, the traffic, that\'s the
one thing on the Hamptons. The traffic is

00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:34.999
horrible, so if you get a, you\'re gonna go to the bathroom, you might
as well get off the Southern State, cause once you\'re on that one road,

00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:39.999
you\'re never gonna get off for anything.
So, I got off Malverne exit on the

00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:44.999
Southern State to go to the bathroom.
I went to the, um, gas station,

00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:49.999
and that\'s probably my biggest mistake.

00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:54.999
My car was hit by another car.

00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:59.999
Um, I don\'t remember exactly
the specifics of the accident.

00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:04.999
I knew I was unconscious in the car.
They towed my car. They gave me a yellow

00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:09.999
paper. The police put me on a train to
Penn Station, but I didn\'t even understand

00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:14.999
at that point what a train was. I didn\'t
understand why I was on it. I didn\'t understand

00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:19.999
pretty much anything.
Then I wandered around

00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:24.999
Penn Station a long time. Like,
I just sat on a pole and

00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:29.999
just watched people go by
for a long time. And then

00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:34.999
I went to, I saw, I think I went
to the police, cause I asked

00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:39.999
for help. That I didn\'t
know what to do. You

00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:44.999
just never expect anything. One day
you\'re just thinking, “Wow. You really

00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:49.999
, you\'re okay.” Then now you\'re a before

00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:54.999
and an after. There\'s a before and
an after. That\'s all there is.

00:02:55.000 --> 00:03:03.000
[music]

00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:59.999
[sil.]

00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:04.999
Imagine waking up in a hospital and realizing
that you can\'t move. Maybe you can\'t speak

00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:09.999
or even remember your own name.

00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:14.999
It doesn\'t matter how
it happens, an accident

00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:19.999
, a stroke, a violent crime. Whatever
the cause, the effect is always

00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:24.999
devastating. Each year, one
and a half million Americans

00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:29.999
fall victim to traumatic brain
and spinal cord injury. 50,000

00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:34.999
of them will die. For those
who survive, choosing

00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:39.999
life or death can become a daily struggle.

00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:44.999
[music]

00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:49.999
Their journey to wellness is often a

00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:54.999
grueling and demoralizing experience.

00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:59.999
[music]

00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:04.999
It wasn\'t that

00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:09.999
long ago that people afflicted with brain and spinal
cord injuries were shut away for the rest of their

00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:14.999
days in nursing homes
meant for the very old.

00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:23.000
[music]

00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:34.999
At Northeast Center for Special Care, a

00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:39.999
rehabilitation center in upstate New
York, the mission is to take on patients

00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:44.999
who others do not want.

00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:49.999
While many believe that these people would
live out their lives in an institutionalized

00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:54.999
setting, the center works to help
them get on with their lives.

00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:59.999
[music]

00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:04.999
Nice drawing, George.

00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:09.999
[sil.]

00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:14.999
The eraser? The big eraser.
Okay, you\'ve got it.

00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:23.000
[music]

00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:29.999
In March, 1999, the Northeast

00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:34.999
Center opened an art studio in Lake Katrine,
New York, a program created by artist

00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:39.999
Bill Richards. Richards, a

00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:44.999
celebrated artist in his own right, with work at
the Whitney and in the Guggenheim collections,

00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:49.999
had achieved dramatic results before with
a similar program he started in New York

00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:54.999
City. In 1988 I created the

00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:59.999
Harlem Horizon Art Studio in Harlem Hospital
in New York City. This program was for

00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:04.999
young adults, people that had
been, uh, severely injured.

00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:09.999
It had a profound effect on the
individuals, and they were making great

00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:14.999
works of art, which was
a dynamite combination.

00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:19.999
The Northeast Center now had
a controversial new arts

00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:24.999
program headed up by Richards. His
approach was completely unique.

00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:33.000
[music]

00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:39.999
We did not want, uh, traditional art
therapy. What we wanted was an artist.

00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:44.999
Uh, we wanted an artist who was
also a teacher. The combination

00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:49.999
of the two is Bill Richards.

00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:54.999
Okay, good. Can I push you back in?
He\'s the ideal

00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:59.999
person, and his immediate reaction
to the people at Northeast Center

00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:04.999
was very positive. He engaged with them
immediately, and they were able to bond with him

00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:09.999
very quickly. The difference was

00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:14.999
that he would not be challenging
people to be engaged in art

00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:19.999
therapy as an activity or as, uh, busy work

00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:24.999
to occupy them on some level, or
even from an occupational therapy

00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:29.999
point of view, just in terms of being
able to, uh, re-acquire certain skills,

00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:34.999
uh, fine motor skills for example. We
wanted to go beyond that. We wanted the

00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:39.999
individual to not only gain the skills,
but also to put those skills into action

00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:44.999
and to create. And to create
something that was wonderful.

00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:53.000
[music]

00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:59.999
These are folks who were destined
to live out the rest of their

00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:04.999
lives in nursing homes unless we can
find some way of rehabilitating them.

00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:09.999
We take folks who have by
and large been through the

00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:14.999
acute rehabilitation process. And we\'ll
work with them, virtually indefinitely,

00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:19.999
to attempt to produce meaningful change.

00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:24.999
Our mission, uh, is to provide
extended rehabilitation, to really

00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:29.999
provide an opportunity that goes well
beyond most people\'s benefits, uh, out of

00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:34.999
an understanding that people can improve. People can and
do improve for many, many years after an injury. And if we

00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:39.999
give them some help, we believe we can
help a significant number of people.

00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:44.999
The art making process is
one of the really great

00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:49.999
ways of, uh, representing different
choices to someone who has lost,

00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:54.999
uh, a great deal of their freedom.
When you start a painting,

00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:59.999
uh, you choose, uh, the material.
You choose the subject matter. So,

00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:04.999
you\'re constantly doing all these things
that have to do with decision making.

00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:09.999
And this makes the individual
feel, and rightly so, that, that

00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:14.999
they are running the, the show. That
they\'re in a position to be in control

00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:19.999
of something. And this is a way of
regaining it. And, in the process

00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:24.999
of regaining some control, they\'re also
regaining some new sense of who they are.

00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:33.000
[sil.]

00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:39.999
When I went home after my accident,

00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:44.999
I don\'t remember how I made it home, but I made it.
But all I did was sleep. I slept for two days,

00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:49.999
from what I heard. And they figured out that something was
really wrong. They ended up taking me to the hospital.

00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:54.999
They, they took me the next,
the next day or the day after.

00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:59.999
My daughter said, “My mom died in
the accident.” And she got me.

00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:04.999
She got me, meaning, cause
after the accident,

00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:09.999
you look the same, which is in

00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:14.999
a way, all right, I guess you\'re supposed to be
grateful. So people expect you to be the same,

00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:19.999
but, um, you\'re literally
almost another person

00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:24.999
now. You\'re, you just are. And you,
you try to live up to expectations

00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:29.999
of what people want or they need even.

00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:34.999
And you can\'t. You\' can\'t
be that person anymore.

00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:39.999
[sil.]

00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:44.999
What a brain injury does is rob you of your
future and your past and begins to take

00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:49.999
you to more and more and more until
you\'re only awareness, your only concern,

00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:54.999
your only interests, your only
needs, uh, exist in that moment.

00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:59.999
What a process oriented approach, and what the
art program does specifically, uh, is take

00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:04.999
the person out of the moment.
And they do it in a way

00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:09.999
that\'s fun and effortless. And I may
be engaged in something like that in

00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:14.999
art making for hours. Can you imagine
somebody being able to tolerate hours

00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:19.999
of physical therapy or hours of occupational
therapy or speech or cognitive therapy?

00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:24.999
It can\'t happen. It challenges the person.
It keeps pushing them beyond that

00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:29.999
moment. It\'s working on that most
important existential process of, of

00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:34.999
being able to, to, to be a
me, who transcends a moment.

00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:39.999
[sil.] I think it\'s coming, man.

00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:44.999
You\'re doing it Dave.
Keep going with it. Good.

00:12:45.000 --> 00:12:49.999
[sil.]

00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:54.999
What do you think of it? I
think it\'s good. I think

00:12:55.000 --> 00:12:59.999
so too. Some of the works are made by

00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:04.999
painting with, uh, a brush extended from a
helmet. Others are painting by holding the brush

00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:09.999
in their teeth. Some have
a lost control of their

00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:14.999
hands, and, and, uh, brushes have
to be attached to the wrist.

00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:23.000
[music]

00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:34.999
What I was interested in
doing was creating a context

00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:39.999
where people could seriously make art.
Art that

00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:44.999
represents a high achievement.

00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:53.000
[music]

00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:59.999
When you just look at the
art, you\'re not aware

00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:04.999
there was that kind of, uh,
obstacle or difficulty.

00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:09.999
Often the physical difficulty
of, of getting the paint

00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:14.999
on the surface is something
that one would never imagine.

00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:23.000
[music]

00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:34.999
Okay. Look around, and you\'ll see.

00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:39.999
Lot of possibilities there. The
Center feels its Art Studio

00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:44.999
program is successful because it doesn\'t
employ the traditional techniques

00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:49.999
used in art therapy. Richards doesn\'t
take a student teacher approach

00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:54.999
when working with the disabled. Okay,
Scott. Looking good. He provides

00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:59.999
only the environment,
materials and encouragement.

00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:04.999
Then he waits for the artist to emerge.
Hold that up.

00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:09.999
What color are you starting with?

00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:18.000
[music]

00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:24.999
High, Annie. How are you? Good. Come on

00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:29.999
in. We\'re gonna do some
drawing to start out with,

00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:34.999
all right? See if we can,

00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:39.999
see an image in there.
Anything that comes to mind.

00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:44.999
I could, I could see myself peaking
out from underneath something.

00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:49.999
There is a distinctive
difference between art therapy

00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:54.999
and, uh, the work that
Bill Richards is doing.

00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:59.999
Art therapy has a way of
interpreting and decoding

00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:04.999
artwork that\'s made by people who have
mental and physical disabilities,

00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:09.999
more often psychological disabilities.
So, it\'s built on psychotherapy,

00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:14.999
on talk therapy. Art

00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:19.999
therapy uses art as a tool to
understand the, the psychological

00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:24.999
block or, um, neurosis or

00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:29.999
whatever the problem is
that, that the client

00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:34.999
has. That is the treatment. By
making this kind of artwork, the art

00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:39.999
therapist is a guide and is guiding
that, um, that client through

00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:44.999
the process. How many
children were there? Four.

00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:49.999
How does that ring? Does that ring true?
Mmm-hmm. Independent.

00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:54.999
Yes. Kind of hard to have independence.
Bill doesn\'t have an agenda.

00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:59.999
He doesn\'t have these preconceived ideas, and he certainly
doesn\'t interpret the work, so I think that is the

00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:04.999
major difference. It\'s, it\'s a more,
it\'s using the arts for its inherent

00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:09.999
healing properties. So you might
say they actually heal, heal

00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:14.999
themselves, because art itself is healing, and
you don\'t need the overlay of, of psychology

00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:19.999
to make it work.

00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:24.999
The studio is a, a open studio, and anyone

00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:29.999
who lives here who wants to come
can come anytime they wish.

00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:34.999
It immediately became very popular because
there were no constraints put on the

00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:39.999
individuals. They could do anything they wanted
and find that it was going to be supported and

00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:44.999
encouraged.

00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:49.999
[music]

00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:54.999
The idea was to call it Art Studio

00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:59.999
in order to make a distinction
between what we do and art

00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:04.999
therapy. We recognized the therapeutic
value of all art, but our intention

00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:09.999
is to make something which is different
from the intention of art therapy.

00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:14.999
The Center\'s philosophy encourages

00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:19.999
the participants to look past
their disabilities. They begin

00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:24.999
by losing the label, patient, and
replacing it with the friendlier

00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:29.999
“neighbor”. But getting the neighbors to
embrace a new identity takes ingenuity

00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:34.999
and time.

00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:43.000
[music]

00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:54.999
And, what do you feel like using, Michael?
Pencil? We have markers.

00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:59.999
Bill\'s whole idea when I first started
working here was that anyone, everyone,

00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:04.999
had some type of artistic ability, and
then, that eventually if they kept at it,

00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:09.999
it would, something amazing
would come out. Our art

00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.999
in school, and, and, you know, elementary,
high school level and college,

00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:19.999
is, is much more directed. You\'re told what
to do. You\'re given the concept in most

00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:24.999
cases, and you\'re to produce a product.
And with what we do with the,

00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:29.999
with the neighbors here is, we want them to come
up with the concept. We\'re not telling them

00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:34.999
what they should be painting. We
want them to come up with it.

00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:39.999
[music]

00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:44.999
Are you going to finish the drawing?
The one you just drew?

00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:49.999
No, I can\'t. Now, you know, many times in
the past, when you haven\'t been in the

00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:54.999
mood, and you\'ve got started, you felt
so much better. I want to see you

00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:59.999
do an inspired painting.

00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.999
We\'re always met with resistance.

00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:09.999
Resistance is the biggest obstacle
that we have to overcome.

00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:14.999
These people have so little belief in
themselves and their own capabilities,

00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:19.999
that, uh, they have no interest,
for the most part, in

00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:24.999
trying something new. They, they
feel they\'re going to fail at it.

00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:29.999
How do you get someone to believe

00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:34.999
in an identity that\'s
somehow different from the

00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:39.999
disabled identity? There\'s nothing
wrong with the idea of being disabled

00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:44.999
, but the identity is disabling.

00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:49.999
Can you do it, David? No. Yes you can.

00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:54.999
When they look in the mirror,
especially after something as, as

00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:59.999
devastating as traumatic brain injury,
they don\'t see the person they once were.

00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:04.999
They don\'t see necessarily anybody they
want to be. They don\'t see anybody worth

00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:09.999
the effort the pain, the risk of failure.

00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:18.000
[music]

00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:39.999
In trying something new, they,
they feel they\'re going to fail at

00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:44.999
it. So, they don\'t want to, to
have to face another failure

00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:49.999
. So, once we can overcome
the barrier of resistance

00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:54.999
and get them involved and just coming
in and enjoying themselves and

00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:59.999
doing something, at some point, if
they continue that, they will make

00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:04.999
some incredible breakthrough.

00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:09.999
[music]

00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:14.999
The, uh, problem that we\'re

00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:19.999
confronted with is convincing them and the
family that, yes, they will not be the

00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.999
same person. Uh, they will never
return to who they were before.

00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:29.999
But this is not hopeless. There is
a possibility of their creating a

00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.999
new sense of who they are, of
creating a new identity, and it may,

00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:39.999
it could be something very exciting.
Using that area where

00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:44.999
you normally paint... I\'ve seen people who
would not get out of bed, and then once they

00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:49.999
finally did start getting going in here,
and making that connection, it would just

00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.999
light a fire under them. It would just,
you could see the excitement and,

00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:59.999
you know, certain neighbors just coming in and just,
“I\'ve been thinking all night about what to do with this

00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:04.999
painting.” Okay, Tim. You\'re ready
to do the finishing touches.

00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:09.999
[music]

00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:14.999
Working with the art program, that
is the best thing that\'s happened

00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:19.999
to me. I was not gonna get
involved in art, so at first

00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:24.999
I was very reluctant. Pat is
a classic example, uh, of,

00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:29.999
of a neighbor who resisted art and
felt that she had no artistic ability.

00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:34.999
Uh, had no interest in art, until finally
one day she broke down for some reason

00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:39.999
and came in and began to, to do something.
And then from that

00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:44.999
day, she never stopped. It
changed her life. It was

00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:49.999
really, really, very fun, just so relaxing.
I was surprised.

00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:54.999
This is okay. This is, like, I can

00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:59.999
do this. And now, the best is
that nobody can say, this is

00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.999
what you used to do. I didn\'t ever do this.
There\'s no “used to”. This is just,

00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.999
this is it. This is me. Never drew.
Never painted. Never nothing. This is

00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:14.999
something. It\'s all mine.
It\'s just a new me. The idea

00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:19.999
that you can be disabled
and be an artist may seem

00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:24.999
very reasonable to us. The two go together.
But for many of our neighbors,

00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:29.999
the two are complete opposites.
And when the conflict occurs,

00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:34.999
I must tell you, that in every case,
the persona of the artist wins.

00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:39.999
Stories like that of Pat

00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:44.999
Gardner\'s are not unusual.
Before her car accident, Pat was

00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:49.999
a banker and mother to a teenage daughter.
After sustaining a brain injury,

00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:54.999
she was misdiagnosed by doctors and sent to
Bellevue Psychiatric Center in New York City.

00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:59.999
Eventually, she found herself at the
art studio, at the Northeast Center.

00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.999
After the first time I was in the
hospital, and I got to go home, when they

00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:09.999
really didn\'t know how extensive the change

00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:14.999
was, um, I was,

00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:19.999
to me, I thought I was doing pretty good.
But, cause, of course, I was throwing my

00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:24.999
vacuum out the window \'cause I couldn\'t figure out how
to turn it on. I\'m on the top floor, so that, that

00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:29.999
was not so smart. Um, I\'m so frustrated
trying to figure things out,

00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:34.999
and still make believe I knew how
to do whatever I was supposed to be

00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:39.999
doing. Unless you\'re at a
place that understands brain

00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:44.999
injuries, they misinterpret
your brain injury for being

00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:49.999
quote, “nuts”, could be. And then you
get to wonder whether you are too.

00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:54.999
So, I had the terrible experience of

00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:59.999
experiencing Bellevue,
knowing I wasn\'t crazy

00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.999
like the people talking to trees,
cause I knew that the trees weren\'t

00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:09.999
answering me. And, um, I
just didn\'t understand

00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:14.999
why I was angry.

00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:19.999
I was fighting with people. I\'d end
up in handcuffs, because I would

00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:24.999
be so frustrated with people. I had

00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:29.999
social skill problems.
This is my sketch book.

00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:34.999
Learning how to do these things,
cause I sketch them first.

00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:39.999
I practice a whole lot.
You have to practice to,

00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:44.999
to get it and get ideas.
It\'s just an expression.

00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:49.999
So, you get to express
what you\'re doing. And I

00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:54.999
think that\'s important – to
express to yourself. This

00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:59.999
way, I know what I\'m feeling. I can tell actually what
I\'m feeling just by looking through my book that day.

00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:04.999
Pat is just one

00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:09.999
of many neighbors living at the Center who
has found her way back through the tangled

00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:14.999
maze of her disability.

00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:19.999
Hi, I\'m Erich Miethner. Thanks

00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:24.999
to Bill Richards and the
art program here, I\'ve

00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:29.999
been able to pursue my creative interests.
Erich Miethner is a

00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:34.999
neighbor who was a, uh,
formerly a musician. Um, he

00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:39.999
resisted art for a long time, and then he
finally, uh, came into the Art Studio.

00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.999
He\'s a person who had, um, a
freak accident which left

00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:49.999
him quadriplegic. Uh, he cannot
move his upper or lower bodies.

00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:54.999
He does not have a brain
injury, and he has been

00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:59.999
able to do, uh, a great
number of very powerful

00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:04.999
and provocative paintings. It\'s very
interesting to me that I am able to

00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:09.999
do this, having never
painted before ever. Um,

00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:14.999
I\'m enjoying it. It occupies a
good bit of my time, and, uh, hope

00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:19.999
to continue doing it even after I
leave the facility here. Painting has

00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:24.999
become a way for me to
continue to pursue my creative

00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:29.999
outlet. Uh, being a musician,
this time using a brush

00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:34.999
and, uh, using my mouth to paint. And,

00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:39.999
uh, I\'ve enjoyed it very very much.

00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:44.999
[music]

00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:49.999
Charles “Tusay” Jenulevich,

00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:54.999
um, a pre-eminent artist.

00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:59.999
He had never painted
prior to his paralyzing

00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:04.999
stroke. He was about sixty years
old when the stroke occurred.

00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:09.999
He had aphasia, loss of speech,
as a result of it. Uh,

00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:14.999
he was paralyzed down the right side of his body.
Previously he had been a carpenter and a poet.

00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:19.999
At the Center he became
an artist of astounding

00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:24.999
vitality and originality,
and, and, just, uh, really

00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:29.999
incredible painter.

00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:38.000
[music]

00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:54.999
Jurgen Blank was pronounced
dead on New Year\'s Eve,

00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:59.999
2000, and, uh, was resuscitated.

00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.999
And came to the Northeast
Center in early January.

00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:09.999
Uh, he had multiple brain tumors as a
result of Agent Orange that he had

00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:14.999
contracted in, uh, Vietnam. I kind of
found painting as an expression of,

00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:19.999
of what has happened to me. And one
picture is of Vietnam and a, uh,

00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:24.999
fire base. One if an, in 1957, when

00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:29.999
our, our plane caught fire
and we crash landed in

00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:34.999
Iceland. I\'ve

00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:39.999
never had a paint brush in my hand in, uh,
to paint, paint a picture. To paint a house,

00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:44.999
yes, but to paint a picture, no, no way.
I\'m always

00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:49.999
looking for new stuff that I can
incorporate into, into some of the

00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:54.999
pictures. I like to paint because it\'s
something that, uh, that fills up my time.

00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:59.999
I was a little hesitant at first, but, but

00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.999
now I kind of like it a lot.
I have 30 or so paintings

00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:09.999
in me right now that I can do. But, I
want to finish this one here first,

00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:14.999
cause this one I think is funny. I, I had
to paint my first painting no matter what.

00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:19.999
It was something deep inside my, urge.
It, it was the day I

00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:24.999
died. This painting has a large
red orange circle in the

00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:29.999
middle, which is what he saw during the
period of time he was considered dead.

00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:34.999
Um, he saw himself at the
bottom on an I.V., himself,

00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:39.999
if he survived as an elderly prophet.
Um, his wife and son

00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:44.999
are down below grieving. The doctor
that saved his life is over here. Uh,

00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:49.999
very intriguing first painting.

00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:58.000
[music] [sil.]

00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:08.000
The Art Studio

00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:29.999
is privately funded by the Northeast
Center\'s President, Tony Solerno.

00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:34.999
Without his support, the
program wouldn\'t exist.

00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:39.999
Art, health care doesn\'t fund art.
It is a system that is

00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:44.999
based on, uh, intervention
and, uh, rehabilitation.

00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:49.999
And it is not a system that
looks at, uh, holistic

00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:54.999
outcomes.

00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:59.999
The health care system, you
lose everything you\'ve

00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:04.999
had, and I don\'t think that you should lose
everything you had so that you can get continued

00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:09.999
health care, because no matter what insurance
you have, you lose, you have to lose

00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:14.999
everything in order for you to get
coverage, which basically if you,

00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:19.999
it sucks because you work your whole
life and, and you end up with nothing.

00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:24.999
Cause you have to have nothing in
order to qualify for something.

00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:29.999
The other one is, oh yeah, they give you
that good psychological, so that you can be

00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:34.999
happy that you had this or you can deal with
it better, but you only get that for half hour

00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:39.999
because that\'s the insurance will cover it.
Here, you have that more

00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:44.999
intensive. You can talk to people, cause
of course you need more than a half hour

00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:49.999
to discuss your whole new life.

00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:54.999
The reimbursement system

00:33:55.000 --> 00:33:59.999
is not intended, is not designed to help people
achieve their highest capacity. It\'s designed to

00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.999
contain cost. And so the, the reimbursement
system alone has really hurt

00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:09.999
the chances of people who, uh, have brain injuries from
getting the services that they need. That that whole

00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:14.999
system of rehabilitation has been
built around speed. You\'re playing

00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:19.999
beat the clock. Uh, folks, benefits are running out
within relatively short period of time, roughly a

00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.999
hundred days. You have to be able to,
uh, request reimbursement from a

00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:29.999
Medicare, from Medicaid, from any third
party reimbursement sources. I can make,

00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:34.999
uh, progress with John Doe. I can make
not only progress, but I promise to make

00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:39.999
functional gains within a reasonable and
predictable period of time. What reasonable

00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:44.999
means is days and weeks, not months and
years. And what predictable means is

00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:49.999
I have to be able to put a, a date on the map when
the person\'s gonna be able to do this or that skill.

00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:54.999
That\'s, of course, absurd, but that\'s what
reimbursement systems by and large require.

00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:59.999
It\'s morally reprehensible, uh, to limit
someone to a hundred days of rehabilitation

00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:04.999
, to say that people who are in their, especially,
their thirties and forties and fifties, uh,

00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:09.999
that such people are going to be consigned
without really any meaningful opportunity

00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:14.999
to get better. Uh, to relegate them
to nursing home level care forever,

00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:19.999
uh, is to do a great
disservice to these folks.

00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:24.999
What is the impact to the
system of an individual

00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:29.999
who never makes the breakthrough and doesn\'t
go to the less restrictive setting,

00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:34.999
who winds up being a permanent part of the

00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:39.999
health care infrastructure?

00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:44.999
[music]

00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:49.999
Isn\'t it worth it to have

00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:54.999
the ability to have that individual
make the breakthrough, even if

00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:59.999
it\'s only one in ten of the
individuals who are confronted

00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:04.999
with the possibility of art as an option?
Why don\'t we

00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:09.999
decide that we should spend
that money and try it?

00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:18.000
[music]

00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:39.999
This one\'s called “Sun eating tulips”.

00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.999
What\'s this one called? It says,

00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:49.999
“Today the world, tomorrow the universe.”

00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:58.000
[music]

00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:04.999
Erich Miethner\'s discharge from the Center
is an indication of how arts programs,

00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:09.999
used in rehabilitative settings, work.

00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:14.999
Well, I\'ve been in my
apartment now for almost a

00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:19.999
year. I moved out of the Northeast
Center and, um, I feel much

00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:24.999
more independent now that I\'m living alone.
I\'m able to take control

00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:29.999
of my own life. In a space of
his own, Erich continues with

00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:34.999
the creative activities that were so vital
to his recovery and rehabilitation.

00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:39.999
Well, the easel I had,
um, hand made for me,

00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:44.999
um, the same easel I used at
the, uh, Northeast Center.

00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:49.999
It\'s very adjustable. I can roll under
it, move it in and out. Works just

00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:54.999
, uh, works fine for my chair.
You know, I\'m

00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:59.999
disabled. I\'m not sick, which many people

00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:04.999
may not understand. In my case, it\'s, uh,

00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:09.999
I\'m very healthy because of that.
That was one of the reasons I was

00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:14.999
able to transition from
the Center to my own

00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:19.999
apartment. In that respect I was very lucky

00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:24.999
because the waiting list for
housing for, for disabled

00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:29.999
folks like myself can be very,
very long, can be over a year,

00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:34.999
two years long. So I got lucky in
that aspect. I\'m, I\'m happy to be

00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:39.999
here. Playing music all my life

00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:44.999
, and not being able to do
that now is, uh, has really

00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:49.999
hurt me. So, art has become the next

00:38:50.000 --> 00:38:54.999
best thing for me. It\'s given me a purpose

00:38:55.000 --> 00:38:59.999
to live.

00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:04.999
Um,

00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:09.999
knowing that I can get up and

00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:14.999
do something meaningful every day.

00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:19.999
[music]

00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:24.999
Paul Malloy has also
moved out of the Center.

00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:29.999
This is, uh, the best place

00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:34.999
I\'ve ever been, and I want to make it work.

00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:39.999
Without the Art Studio, I
don\'t know what, what I would

00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:44.999
have done. Now I\'m, not only do I have a

00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:49.999
new lease on life, but I think

00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:54.999
of myself as an artist. My interest in art

00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:59.999
is abstract art. I see
things that probably other

00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:04.999
people don\'t see. Some people

00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:09.999
just see paint on a canvas.
That\'s not all that\'s there.

00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:14.999
It\'s just a feeling that
it\'s freedom to me.

00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:19.999
Sometimes I have a feeling,

00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:24.999
but most times I do it with my eyes closed

00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:29.999
and my heart open. I just let my heart

00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:34.999
flow, whatever I feel like painting.

00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:39.999
[music]

00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:44.999
For Charles “Tusay”

00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:49.999
Jenulevich, a stroke has
stolen his voice. Today,

00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:54.999
painting has given it back.
Yes, before I did

00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:59.999
poetry, and, uh, I used to work with

00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:04.999
words. I can say

00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:09.999
not too much, really. I\'m sorry but it does

00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:14.999
not bag(ph). And that didn\'t matter.
Uh, I can

00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:19.999
paint. .Uh, Charles became
an obsessive painter.

00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:24.999
Um, it has become his life.
It\'s transformed his life,

00:41:25.000 --> 00:41:29.999
and it gave him, uh, a
new identity and, and,

00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:34.999
uh, it has made his life meaningful. If,

00:41:35.000 --> 00:41:39.999
if get the urge to paint, that\'s all.
That\'s all I

00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:44.999
really want. I never did before, and that\'s

00:41:45.000 --> 00:41:49.999
really good, good for me. I

00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:54.999
can express myself much better

00:41:55.000 --> 00:41:59.999
than words. So, I don\'t need

00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:04.999
to say anything. Painting,

00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:09.999
that\'s my new

00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:14.999
poetry. It\'s pure poetry.

00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:19.999
So, I waited.

00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:24.999
I\'m waiting for, for my

00:42:25.000 --> 00:42:29.999
words to come back. And they\'ll be back.

00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:34.999
Today, Tusay is

00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:39.999
leaving. Um, it\'s going to be a monumental
day in the history of our facility,

00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:44.999
and, um, I\'m very happy for him. I, uh,

00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:49.999
I\'m very proud of him, of
his accomplishments, and,

00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:54.999
like his determination to,
um, to get better, and his

00:42:55.000 --> 00:42:59.999
determination to become an outstanding
artist. And I\'m going to miss him very much.

00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:08.000
[sil.]

00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:14.999
Charles. Are these for you right here?
The canes?

00:43:15.000 --> 00:43:19.999
That should go downstairs(ph).

00:43:20.000 --> 00:43:24.999
I have to run to do all my stuff I\'ve

00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:29.999
been doing all week, but I didn\'t want to
leave without saying goodbye to you. It\'s

00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:34.999
been an absolute honor. All right. Behave.

00:43:35.000 --> 00:43:39.999
Don\'t come back. Good. Very good. I get it.
Except to paint. Except to paint!

00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:48.000
[music]

00:44:10.000 --> 00:44:14.999
Bye. Bye.

00:44:15.000 --> 00:44:23.000
[sil.]

00:44:25.000 --> 00:44:29.999
Okay. Good job.

00:44:30.000 --> 00:44:34.999
[music]

00:44:35.000 --> 00:44:43.000
[sil.]

00:45:30.000 --> 00:45:34.999
Good. Very good.

00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:43.000
[sil.]

00:45:55.000 --> 00:45:59.999
But not everyone gets

00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:04.999
to go home. After many years of suffering
from the affects of Agent Orange,

00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:09.999
Jurgen Blank has died. His final
days were spent at the Studio,

00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:14.999
a happy and productive painter who
found reason to celebrate his life.

00:46:15.000 --> 00:46:19.999
My name is Jean Blank, and I\'m the wife of

00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:24.999
Jurgen Blank, who passed away last year.
This kind

00:46:25.000 --> 00:46:29.999
of art kept his, kept him alive. It gave him
something to live for, and he really, it made

00:46:30.000 --> 00:46:34.999
his life worth living to him. He enjoyed it. It
brought him a lot of pleasure and satisfaction,

00:46:35.000 --> 00:46:39.999
and he was able to get through a lot of traumas that he\'d
had in his life that he was never really able to do much

00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:44.999
talking about. He put them on canvas.
He would, uh,

00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:49.999
come most every day, even though
he was in great pain. He had this

00:46:50.000 --> 00:46:54.999
great sense of expressing the

00:46:55.000 --> 00:46:59.999
great traumatic events of his life,
to transcend the lack of training,

00:47:00.000 --> 00:47:04.999
the lack of know how, and
go directly to the art.

00:47:05.000 --> 00:47:09.999
It was like he bloomed.

00:47:10.000 --> 00:47:14.999
I mean, he, it was like he made
a complete circle again. When I

00:47:15.000 --> 00:47:19.999
first met him he was a fairly happy person, and
he went through a period of time where he was

00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:24.999
just not outgoing, pretty closed
and pretty difficult to get to

00:47:25.000 --> 00:47:29.999
know. And, he got sick, and he went
there and started feeling, you know

00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:34.999
, a little better. He got in the art program.
He just, he opened up. He turned around. He

00:47:35.000 --> 00:47:39.999
became friendly and happy and, you know.
He enjoyed life. He really

00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:44.999
learned how to live finally. And I think it was just
great that he was given the opportunity. It really

00:47:45.000 --> 00:47:49.999
made him happy, and, you know, when
you know someone is as ill as he was,

00:47:50.000 --> 00:47:54.999
and you can see him actually find
satisfaction and happiness and laugh and

00:47:55.000 --> 00:47:59.999
smile, it\'s really wonderful.
And, you can\'t

00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:04.999
replace that. That\'s something that nobody
can do for you. That\'s something that just,

00:48:05.000 --> 00:48:09.999
if the opportunity is there, and you can take
advantage of it, it\'s wonderful. I really,

00:48:10.000 --> 00:48:14.999
really believe in this kind of a program,
because it gives you a way not to be forgotten.

00:48:15.000 --> 00:48:19.999
The artwork remains.

00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:24.999
[sil.]

00:48:25.000 --> 00:48:29.999
All right. Go for it.

00:48:30.000 --> 00:48:34.999
Now Phillip, I need a little
smile from you. Today

00:48:35.000 --> 00:48:39.999
, the artists prepare to show their work
to the world, and the studio is abuzz with

00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:44.999
excitement. We\'re gonna be having the show in, in
Saugerties. We\'re gonna be putting up the show tomorrow

00:48:45.000 --> 00:48:49.999
at a gallery in Saugerties. And
if you wish, we can put this,

00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:54.999
this painting in the exhibition,
and you can also have it for sale

00:48:55.000 --> 00:48:59.999
if you like. Would you like that? Okay.

00:49:00.000 --> 00:49:04.999
And I\'m just wondering if you\'re

00:49:05.000 --> 00:49:09.999
interested in showing it and if
so, do you want to sell it? Sure.

00:49:10.000 --> 00:49:14.999
My mom will be proud of
me when she sees this.

00:49:15.000 --> 00:49:19.999
Right? My mom\'s gonna be proud
when she sees this portrait

00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:24.999
. She might wanna buy it.

00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:29.999
When\'s the show supposed to be?

00:49:30.000 --> 00:49:34.999
Yeah, that\'s the idea. Just, yeah.

00:49:35.000 --> 00:49:43.000
[sil.]

00:49:50.000 --> 00:49:54.999
You, you got me laughing now Dan.

00:49:55.000 --> 00:49:59.999
I\'m happy.

00:50:00.000 --> 00:50:08.000
[sil.]

00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:19.999
thought when Bill gave me this
he was losing, he lost his mind.

00:50:20.000 --> 00:50:24.999
And I had an idea in my mind, but I didn\'t
really know where I would go with it. And,

00:50:25.000 --> 00:50:29.999
I loved the city. But, now I will never
paint another bridge as long as I live.

00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:34.999
I couldn\'t get it. I just kept stepping
back and saying, “ You know, this bridge

00:50:35.000 --> 00:50:39.999
gotta come out.” I love the city.

00:50:40.000 --> 00:50:44.999
I love the view. I love the whole
thing, but I love the, um,

00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:49.999
the Fourth of July. You always see

00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:54.999
from that end up on 59th
Street, is all fireworks.

00:50:55.000 --> 00:50:59.999
And this is one I, my daughter
drew of fishes, and I painted them

00:51:00.000 --> 00:51:04.999
for her. But, you see, I have to
have a dark side. I drew the,

00:51:05.000 --> 00:51:09.999
the boat in with the, um, hook, cause
you can\'t have too many happy fish

00:51:10.000 --> 00:51:14.999
, you know.

00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:23.000
[music]

00:52:10.000 --> 00:52:14.999
By returning the neighbors to a world
of productivity and displaying their

00:52:15.000 --> 00:52:19.999
work in the marketplace, their
status in society is elevated.

00:52:20.000 --> 00:52:24.999
The promise of restoring people to
productive new lives is fulfilled

00:52:25.000 --> 00:52:29.999
with the sale of each painting. Today
they are artists at their own gallery

00:52:30.000 --> 00:52:34.999
show. The change in identity is complete.
Life is full

00:52:35.000 --> 00:52:39.999
of possibilities.

00:52:40.000 --> 00:52:45.000
[music]