Andreas Engel with his 4-panel painting for the Housy Windows Project, Windows To The Soul Of Housatonic, (2023) acrylic on canvas.
“At the onset of the Housy Windows Project, I felt a strong pull to do something with bold, black and white graphic lines.
I also knew I wanted to do something with a narrative… something reflective of the poetic quality of the village of Housatonic—filled with a quiet energy where rich historic secrets wait to be discovered.
For me, the boarded up windows of the school building are symbolic of something deeper. As a young child (in a different school) I was a hopeless daydreamer in the classroom, staring out the windows to explore uninhibited possibility. My teachers coached me in, and I did learn some things, but the windows were essential to my wellbeing.
Andreas Engel, sketch for Housy Windows Project.
From the outside of the Housatonic School, it feels to me that the boarded up windows have become as much a part of Housatonic’s identity as the water tower—which, I’m told, has never held any water—and are certainly not reflective of the vibrant community members living in the surrounding houses, many of whom attended the school in its former life.
For the windows project, I decided to design my art to play off of the looking in and out of windows. The cat looks out from the inside, and we look out (in?) from the outside. I want the work to be a recognition of the beauty that is inside and out, in past, in present, and also inspiration for the future.”
~ Andreas Engel