A few years ago when I was looking up something I found information about an uncle of mine, one of my Father's brothers. His name was Garwood Rowan Wolff, and he had been my Father's favorite brother. I may have met him once, and I think it's possible that I did when I was very young because there is a vague memory that I have of him visiting the house where we lived and where I grew up. He lived in New York City and when I was a young teenager I remember coming home from after school one day to hear that my Father needed to go to New York because Garwood had died. Over the years I heard little bits of information about him, but there was nothing really outstanding that I was told. At one point when I was working in the McGraw Hill building my Mother said that he had worked in the publishing business at McGraw Hill, at another time when I lived in the West Village she told me that he'd had an apartment there with a rent of $7 that he'd stopped paying and that he'd lost the apartment. It always seemed when people spoke about Garwood that his life had not been extraordinary in any way and that he had in some ways not done anything of merit at all. But my Father had loved him dearly, and it made me wonder more about him and who this uncle of mine really was.
When I found the information about him a few yeas ago, it was in reference to a text book that he'd written on sustainability and conservation of natural resources during a time when no one was really talking about those things. To me because of the things that I am passionate about, that seemed like something of note and of merit that I was surprised that no one had ever mentioned to me. I started to think about this uncle more, and about my own life, and I began to think that maybe he and I had more in common than might be seen at first glance, and that if he were still alive we would have gotten along and enjoyed each other's company and inspiration.
Recently when I was at YES Gallery, thinking about a project for an art, design and sustainability educational center that is near and dear to my heart that I am in the process of developing, I felt as if there was a presence in the gallery. It was just a moment of a shadow in the glass of a framed piece, but I had the unmistakable feeling that someone from my family was there and wanted me to know something. I've had experiences like that before, and usually I know right away who it is, but this time I was unsure and at first I thought it might be my Grandfather, my Father's Father. But then it came into my consciousness that it was Garwood and I couldn't understand what he would want to share with me, so when I went home I started to research him more again.
This time I found out that he had lived in Sutton Place, somewhere that I have alway had a deep feeling of connection to, and I found the building where he had lived. It is one that I often used to walk by on lunch breaks when I was working midtown and wanted to explore the neighborhood. I found a mention that he had indeed worked at McGraw Hill for many years, but he had also started his own publishing company, and that he had been one of the publishers of an architecture and design magazine that was one of the forerunners of the art and design magazines that are preeminent today.
As I read about my Uncle Garwood, I realized that everything that I do and everything that I am passionate about stems directly from work that he did and loved. I realized that the project that I am developing that is so deeply rooted in my being is one that is part of my own family heritage. As I continue to plan this project and envision the future of it, it is Garwood and his legacy that will be part of what I am celebrating there. Far from being forgotten and unmerited, his extraordinary life and vision will live on through me and mine. What I create in the community will honor his heritage and the dreams he began when my own were just beginning to awaken.
jannie_wolff Art And Life - I’ve Been Thinking About My Uncle Garwood Quite A Bit This Past Week. I Think About Him Often, But He Felt Very Near To Me Somehow And I Remembered This Photograph. He Was Awarded Bronze And Silver Stars, Admirable In The Navy, But What I Remember Most Is That He Was My Father’s Favorite Brother, And He And I, Though Many Years And Lifetimes Apart, Share So Many Echoes. He Had His Own Publishing Company And Wrote Books About Sustainability, And He Was A Co-Publisher Of A Design And Architecture Magazine. I Realized In Thinking About Him That So Many Of My Influences Are In A Direct Line To Him. There Are Other Veterans In My Family, But Today I Wanted To Honor Him Especially, As Give Gratitude To All Who Serve
Blessings,
Jannie Susan
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