Mullen’s show at the Museum of Modern Art, the first by a developmentally disabled artist, speaks volumes. Photos: NYT
Before Marlon Mullen begins a painting, he likes to tidy his work space. He will pre-mix his paints - golden acrylics in recycled pots - and lay out his brushes and canvas on his table. Often, he'll empty the studio's trash cans. Sometimes he'll even sweep the yard outside, or rearrange objects on the studio shelves according to their relation to colours he plans to use in his painting.
As I learned when I visited him in Richmond, California, the United States one recent rainy morning, this ritual process can take days.Mullen works at NIAD, an art studio for developmentally disabled adults. The name initially stood for the National Institute for Arts and Disability but was later changed to Nurturing Independence Through Artistic Development. NIAD opened in 1982. Mullen, now 61, began attending in 1986, when he was 23. Three days a week, he is picked up by a private bus from the home he shares with three other men, and rides the 15 minutes to Richmond.
