Spray the Day Away

In the Wilmington, Delaware gallery hung the simple work. It showed a calendar with the date December 25 in large, bold, black Helvetica typeface and a huge red X that sliced through it. Spray paint dripped. The artist, Camille Dott, had been bombing walls and tagging bridges until she figured she could one day be featured in an art gallery.

People looked at the piece and scoffed. Others stared. They wanted to get the meaning of the work.

“Now this piece is a statement on the commercialization of Christmas. It’s saying that we should all abandon it,” art critic Patrice Samuelson noted. It did. Across the globe, people uprooted Christmas trees and burned them. No stores offered sales on toys and foodstuffs. The entire world forgot about the holiday.

From the First State to Munich, no winking lights and no garland or tinsel or exorbitant meals appeared. Camille didn’t feel discontent or particularly happy about the events. She journeyed to the gallery where about two hundred people crammed in to see the piece. A clamor arose from the gathering. She walked up to her work like a warrior about to face the firing squad. A child ran up to her and handed her a gift. The present looked immaculate. Silver and red and green wrapping and a red and black bow enclosed the gift.

Camille handled it as camera phones recorded and snapped photographs. She opened up the box. A simple kit of paint and a brush nestled in the tiny enclosement. She held onto the tool of creation like it was a gift of platinum. She raised her head with a tear in one eye. It dropped down her cheek.

“I didn’t want to cancel Christmas. I will use this gift to paint something of beauty. Merry Christmas, everyone!”