Paul Violi At the Cottage of Messer Violi The mailbox, painted dark blue, sits atop a tilted cedar post. It has a little red flag on one side and it is altogether remarkable. The Toyota in the driveway is very old and is said to have come from Japan. There is in the hallway an immense dogfood bowl. It is made of iridescent pink plastic. It is, as I have said, immense and it is hideous. In the kitchenette is a statuette of Ceres, Goddes of Wheaties. The dishwasher is a Kenmore and altogether worthy of praise. In the foyer the over-sized painting of a porkchop provides visitors many opportunities for conversation. In the servants' quarters there are many impressive works that stress the imminence of death and the probability of hell fire. Placed on the broad maplewood table beside bottles of cognac there is a recording device with a silver megaphone into which natives are often invited to shout the oral histories of their people. We whose hearts have been gripped by life, scoff at the idea of art as mere ornamentation: So they seem to proclaim, the three statues that adorn the neighbor's lawn, plaster deer with real bulletholes in them. Paul Violi Index |