Arts

Love Made Visible:

by Julie Walker
Wednesday Sep 17, 2014

Jean Gibran's account of life with a South End Artist

Jean Gibran's home is colorful, comfortable and vibrant with the creations of her late husband, artist and innovator Kahlil Gibran, reflecting the life they shared for half a century on West Canton Street. The younger cousin of the renowned poet and author of "The Prophet", artist Kahlil Gibran struck a prominent profile for himself as a painter, sculptor, luthier and restorer of art and musical instruments. Two of his widely-recognized public installations are West Canton Street Child in Hayes Park and Ad Astra in Childe Hassam Park. In straightforward yet elegant prose, Jean Gibran shares her late husband's passions, his achievements and their long life together in her recently released book, "Love Made Visible: Scenes from a Mostly Happy Marriage". Jean will read from her memoir at the South End Branch Library at 6:30 PM on Tuesday, September 23. Meticulous and vivid storytelling gives the book a feeling of immediacy rather than past, and it features a broad cast of characters both local and international, from their close friend Paul Hayes of the clan that has inhabited West Canton Street for five generations to Mexican billionaire and philanthropist Carlos Slim. The title is taken from the artist's favorite quote from "The Prophet", "Work is love made visible", underscoring the artist's indefatigable drive to create.

Jean was armed with both ample preparation and talent for the task of chronicling her life with the artist Gibran. A former schoolteacher and a co-founder of the Boston Women's Heritage Trail, Jean, like her husband, is profiled in "Local Legends of the South End" by former South End Historical Society executive director Hope Shannon. Jean and her husband co-authored a biography of the poet, "Kahlil Gibran: His Life and World". Jean observed, "People think [Love Made Visible] is the first thing I ever wrote. It's not. I wrote a lot for the biography, I wrote a lot of articles on (the poet) Gibran. When I was teaching and after I retired from the Hurley School, I had written a lot for grants for the Boston Public Schools. If you go to www.bostonteachnet.org, I've done a whole web site on community service learning where there are thousands of words on how kids can serve their community and how teachers can do it. Just before Kahlil died, I was very involved in that."

Jean explained the purpose of her book: as a celebration of her marriage, a remembrance of local artists, and a guide for dealing with loss. "A lot of people don't understand how many artists there were here in the South End in the 50s, 60s and 70s. I did the book first of all for those artists to be remembered including Kahlil. Second, I thought, 'Who else will be interested in this book?' The baby boomers are getting older. I come from a very small demographic; I was born in the early 1930s. But the baby boomers are huge, and they are going to start losing their partners, their husbands and wives. How are they going to handle it? You can't go into a depression. I've known people who go into huge depressions, and you can't really do that. You have to keep moving." She continued, "That's one of the reasons I wrote the book, to show how you do it. You go to theater, you get involved with art, you do as much as you can to keep moving."

The impetus for starting the book came from an e-mail sent by South End-based editor Paul Wright to "The Geezers", as she fondly refers to the weekly social group, the South End Seniors. Wright informed the seniors of the Writers Workshop conducted by the William Joiner Institute for the Study of War and Social Consequences at U. Mass. Boston, which Jean began attending shortly before her husband's death. "I knew that I was going to write something about Khalil and I said to myself, 'I have to go to the writing workshop'." The workshop helped propel Jean into the momentous task of composing the revealing memoir.

Jean's home is resplendent with both her husband's artistic treasures and his handiworks. The bronze sculpture, Joined Hands, which is featured on the cover of "Love Made Visible", is displayed in her living room, as are dozens of other sculptures and paintings by Kahlil as well as select pieces by other artists. Everyday essentials to which Kahlil lent his stylish touch equip and adorn the kitchen, which the couple put in 50 years ago but which retains a fresh, retro-chic look. Kahlil's household creations include a tear-drop shaped cutting board hanging on the wall; a coffee grinder; a butcher-block stand with a drawer; a gracefully crafted stainless-steel ladle; a rolling pin; and a slate dining table crafted from a former blackboard, all attesting to his creative practicality. The Geneva Kitchens cabinetry is augmented with small black drawers that the artist added himself, and Kahlil designed the warm, brown ceramic-tile floor and had it fired by a local artisan.

Kahlil's downstairs studio remains as he left it with its many tools and utensils stored in neatly labeled drawers, cabinets and cigar boxes, its walls lined with paintings, drawings, sculptures and musical instrument parts, and Kahlil's welding station, reluctantly abandoned at the insistence of the insurance company, and a pressure cooker filled with casting wax await the master. At the entrance hangs a small but dramatic crucifix of Kahlil's creation, and portraits of Kahlil and Jean by other artists line the staircase.

While Kahlil and Jean kept different hours with Jean's regularly scheduled school days and Kahlil's penchant for working all hours of the day and night, they made time for themselves and their children at meals, where Kahlil reigned in the kitchen, and in the summertime, enjoying that favorite, old South End tradition, stoop-sitting with neighbors and friends. "We didn't have a television and we didn't go out to movies. We went to concerts when we were asked," Jean recalled. "We interacted with his friends, with collectors and the people who had been close to him throughout his childhood." Since Kahlil's passing, Jean has forged her own network and slate of activities. "I belong to a writing group, I go swimming with friends, I go to the theater. The art connection still is very prevalent. I am alone a lot but I don't mind being alone because I was an only child," Jean explained. Jean's story is that of a survivor.

For more details on Jean Gibran's reading and other author talks at the South End Branch Librbary, visit http://www.friendsofsouthendlibrary.org/2014/08/fall-season-of-author-talks-at-the-south-end-library-ready-to-go-with-september-readings-by-sue-miller-jean-gibran-and-johnny-diaz/. The library, located at 685 Tremont Street, can also be reached at 617/536-8241.