Lost and Found (The Redemption of Mary Louisa McBroom) Collage

Lost and Found is an intense piece that has a powerful impact on the viewer. I have watched people spend long periods of time lingering in front of this piece in thought contemplation. I have seen people moved to tears! This is a mixed media piece that deals with the subject of mental illness. When I was growing up, no one ever mentioned her, or talked about her. They would simply say, “She died in the hospital, before World War II. That was all I ever knew about her. Years after my dad passed away, I was trying to find more information about our family genealogy. I learned from a distant relative that my grandma was actually a patient, during the 1930’s and 1940’s, at a mental institution in Norman, Oklahoma. One day, I called the Chamber of Commerce in Norman, Oklahoma and asked if there was still a “mental hospital” in the area and they gave me a phone number to call. Central Oklahoma State Hospital was one of six mental hospitals in the State during those years. I called the number. I talked to someone on the phone about any records they might have from back that far, and to my surprise, they said if they could find anything, I could have copies because it had been over 50 years. They said all the old records were stored in the basement and that, if they had time, they would try to find them. One day, months later, I was at the post office when a large manila envelope arrived. In it, was a complete file of her medical records and history. I sat there, in the car in front of the post office, and read every page. As I read the details of her medical file and the way she died, tears rolled down my cheeks. Then on the last page, there was a picture of her. Her file was filed with details that broke my heart. Even though I never knew her, and her death was a decade before I was born, those papers gave me an emotional intimacy that has bonded my heart to hers ever since. Her story would have been so very different in today's world and her condition would have been treated much differently. Since receiving that manila envelope years ago, I have felt a deep responsibility to somehow speak out for her. Those records and documents contained her story, her pain and her life. I felt compelled to try and find a way to give that life meaning and purpose. I felt that others needed to know what she could never express. I came across, what was for many years, the sole picture of my paternal grandmother when she was about 16 or 17 years old. I pulled out the old medical records that had the old photocopied “file” photo of her and held them side-by-side. One was a young teenage girl in a pretty dress, her hair fixed nice, but with an expression of sadness. The other was a front and side-view picture of her many years, (and 12 children), later. What a contrast! I looked into her face and her eyes and just knew I needed to do an art piece to tell her story! It was a sad story and, to many, a shameful story. But, it needed to be told! She deserved it. Maybe, no one really cared back then! But, maybe, people might just care today! And so I began. I call the piece I created for her, “Lost and Found”. Meet Mary Lousia McBroom. She was born December 15, 1885, in Madison County, Arkansas. She was the daughter of Issac McBroom and Lucinda Upton-McBroom. She had 8 brothers and sisters. She married James Thomas Head around 1905 and by age 47, had 12 children, one of which died as a young child. It was at age 47; she was first taken and admitted to Central Oklahoma State Hospital in Norman, where doctors diagnosed her with paranoid condition psychosis with pellagra. Pellagra is a disease characterized by diarrhea, dermatitis and dementia, and is caused by having too little niacin or tryptophan in the diet. Keep in mind; this was in 1934 during the Great Depression. They were dirt-poor farmers and she would do without to feed all those kids. In December 1943, six days before Christmas, at the age of 56 and after being in the hospital in Norman for nearly ten years, she took her own life. To quote from the hospital records: “Patient had been self-mutilating for several months, and had pulled most of her hair out. Definite suicidal attempts had not been detected but had been feared. She was in a room with two other patients who were relatively well organized mentally, so she could be protected. During the extreme rush of mass treatment of shock patients, Mrs. Head stuffed some papers inside her gown in front, found a match, went to the bathroom and ignited the papers, leaned over forward against bathroom wall and was standing there when discovered by her roommate who immediately put out the fire, burning her own hands in the procedure. The patient had burned herself in front from the neck, down to and including the thighs almost to the knees – at least one fourth of the body surface. She was immediately given glucose and saline solutions intravenously to combat loss of liquids through burned areas. At no time did she go into extreme shock, or lose consciousness until near the end. She told one of the physicians to be sure and tell my daughter, ‘I passed out just as I wanted to.’ The circumstances were related to the brothers and they were apparently satisfied with the explanation and were not critical.” - Dr. Steen 12/20/1943 - I can’t imagine what she was thinking or feeling that day, but it was just six days before Christmas. How can it feel, after so many years locked away in such an awful place; missing your children, feeling such abandonment and heartbreak; living much of it in small spaces, behind locked doors. I have no idea what she must have felt! But her life was very hard and sad! If you look at my mixed media piece, “Lost and Found” I want you to know who Mary Louisa McBroom was. I want you to look into her eyes and see her pain. I want you to look at the things I choose to include in this piece and say to yourself, “That is NOT how we should ever treat a fellow human being.” And when you walk away, I would like to think you truly felt sympathy and sorrow for this poor lady. And maybe felt a tear in your eye. After all, she deserves it! And if I accomplish that, I have succeeded in what I tried to do, and have given VALUE to the manilla envelope I received that day, long ago. Oh yes… Someone asked me, "Why the jack-in-the-box?" Well, I guess because when you turn the crank long enough the music stops! She pops up and you have to look her in the eyes and deal with mental illness! We were raised to feel shameful and embarrassed, and to push her back in and shut the lid. But please don't! Just remember the sadness you see in that face and maybe remember her name. Mary… Mary Louisa McBroom!

Collage:Found Objects on Paper

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:50 W x 25.5 H x 2 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.