A 1) Pigeon Lady of Istanbul

Artist's Statement:

Pigeon Lady of Istanbul

Yesterday, I would have flown,
But all too quick, my life is done.
My prettiness,
My fertility,
Burnt in the sun.
In the dust from rushing feet,
Within the confines of my flesh,
I rest in mediocrity,
And all that I have,
Give I thee.

- Kathleen Katon Tonnesen, 2000.

* My poem and the painting "Pigeon Lady of Istanbul" were inspired by my travels to Istanbul, where I observed a beautiful time worn individual sitting outside the university entrance. She intrigued me because she was not begging but had found a way to create work by selling people a plate of birdseed, which she would then proceed to feed the pigeons with as entertainment. All the while despised by wealthy pedestrians whose feet cast dust upon her robes and who did not understand that while they dismissed her as an unworthy human being, due to her financial poverty, when she went home - she was a queen, a lover, an important mother, grandmother, aunt, or sister, even perhaps the sole breadwinner for her family. I was in my mid-thirties at the time and was cognizant of how short life is, and how women are judged by their physical youthful attributes and are not valued for the time they willingly give to domestic chores and to the raising of their children. - Kathleen Katon Tonnesen, 2000

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