ART IN ACTION

By Ben Greenman

from forthcoming collection, as yet untitled

Norman Hatch, who spoke first, addressed his remarks almost exclusively to the members of his family, who had convened for his youngest brother Jeffrey’s holiday party along with a few dozen of Jeffrey’s friends and neighbors. It was the first time in years that the full set of Hatch siblings had been together, and as such it was a prime opportunity for Norman to furnish an update regarding the course of his life and life’s work. He started calmly enough, but worked himself up to considerable emotion when speaking of his own painting, at which point his speech became peripatetic and he commenced to striding restlessly between the white couch against the fireplace wall and the Christmas tree in the far corner. “It is said by some that I have never engaged healthily with realism,” he said. “And yet, the word is a feint. If we were to listen to science, we we hear that everything around us is composed of atoms whirling rapidly through time and space, and that they are composed of even smaller particles whirling even more rapidly. What is more real than that? But when I try to depict those facts, I am designated as an abstract artist. This is at least untrue and possibly even unjust.” Most of the Hatches heard only parts of the speech, as they were busying themselves with other tasks, some taking food from the kitchen, others talking amongst themselves, still others sitting on the couch watching holiday movies on the new oversized television that Jeffrey had mounted on the wall that morning. During his remarks, they were watching a romantic comedy of recent vintage centered around a woman who quit her unsatisfying job in finance and traveled to London to find her long-lost love, only to learn the true meaning of Christmas. The specific scene that coincided with the crescendo of his speech was a bit of farce involving the heroine, a flirty older shopkeeper, and a young couple who had wandered into the shop out of a pouring rain. “I love this part,” said Jeffrey, and a number of people murmured their assent.