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Twin artists, and the healing power of art

There was no way Mark and Jan Lawrance could have known what life would hold for their adorable twins, Will and Joe.

“You couldn’t tell one from the other,” said Mark. “Joe and Will. Who’s Joe? Who’s Will? So, they just very quickly became ‘JoeWill.'”

No way to know what was coming, and perhaps no way to go on if they had.

Jan said, “These guys weren’t just close; there was almost an interconnectedness. When they were little, if Will fell, Joe cried harder than Will did.”

In high school the boys discovered art. Their teachers, Basil Smotherman and Vicki Ayres, were stunned by the way they expressed their individuality, while also remaining tightly connected to each other.

“They were living, breathing and drinking [art],” said Smotherman.

Ayres said, “I would walk in on them working and they’d be looking at each other’s work, but they were not saying a word. And I remember joking with them once: ‘Are you talking telepathically?'”

Their senior self-portraits – Will’s, a teenage boy with spikey hair and pimples; and Joe’s, made from thousands of magazine fragments – left no doubt the twins were special.

Left: Will’s 4 x 6-foot painting which has been dubbed “Big Face.” Right: Joe’s collage-portrait created from magazine clippings.

Will and Joe Lawrance

Smotherman said, “On average, you wouldn’t see this work coming from a high school kid.”

After high school, Joe moved to New York City to study at the Cooper Union, while Will was far away at the Art Institute of Chicago. Their parents said they did not foresee issues when it came time for the twins to separate. “We just thought they were going to get their own identities and create their own little worlds,” said Jan.

Artwork by Joe and Will Lawrence.

Joe and Will Lawrence

But in the fall of 2004, it became clear those worlds were filled with suffering. Joe’s roommate called the Lawrances to tell them that Joe had attempted to take his own life.

Mark and Jan, who’d watched their boys’ interconnectedness from infancy, knew what threatened one, would also threaten the other.

Jan said they thought they’d better keep an eye on Will, “but Will basically stomped his foot and said, ‘I would never do that. I would never do that!'”

But JoeWill were in the grips of depression. Jan and Mark tried everything. Joe would attempt, and fail, to take his life again in 2006. Five years later, Will would succeed in taking his. He was 26.

Jan recalled when a police officer and a chaplain came to their door: “And Mark standing with them, and he said, ‘It’s Will. He died.’ And I fell to the brick entry and just started screaming.”

Joe’s reaction? “He said, ‘Oh, I knew he died. The second he died, I knew it,'” said Jan.

Joe said he felt as if half of him had died.

In 2017, six years after Will’s death, police were once again knocking on the Lawrances’ front door. Mark knew: “Yeah, I just said to them, I said: ‘It’s our son, isn’t it?'”

Joe was 32.

Axelrod said, “The degree to which you two must have been shattered is incomprehensible.”

Jan said, “It literally is the very beginning. You feel like: I wonder how come my arms are so heavy? I mean, you don’t even feel [you] can lift up the glass of water.”

“A half a dozen years later, where are you with your grief?” asked Axelrod.

“You go forward, then you come backwards,” Jan replied. “The thing is, you’re shattered in a million pieces and then you rebuild your wholeness. You’re not gonna ever be the same.”

Part of the Lawrances’ healing was found in their sons’ work. They’d been prodigious: sketches, sculptures, paintings. Hundreds and hundreds of pieces, stored in closets, under beds. “Stuff keeps surfacing that you think, wow, I thought I’d found it all,” Jan said. “It’s like we always go: Hi Joe, Hi Will. When you know something happens, we call them God winks, or little winks. So, we get winks all the time.”

Correspondent Jim Axelrod with Jan and Mark Lawrance.

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The Lawrances felt those winks had power in them – power they wanted others to feel. Last April, an exhibit opened at the Indianapolis Art Center: “JoeWill: Better Together.”

Short videos told their story, and spread awareness about depression.

More than 100 of JoeWill’s works were curated by exhibitions manager Alex Moore. “If you walk into a space digesting certain struggles of your own, and you see those reflected in the objects, it’s validating,” Moore said. “It tells you that you’re not alone. It tells you that your experience is human.”

“JoeWill: Better Together,” at the Indy Art Center.

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Mark and Jan found enormous comfort there. “The boys are here,” said Jan. “They’re filling the halls. They’re talking to us.”

They said it was therapeutic to visit with them again. “It was beautiful,” Jan said. “We went almost every day for the two months. I mean, I feel like I was not even walking on the ground. I felt elevated, not just emotionally and spiritually, but physically. I thought: Am I levitated?“

“It was pure joy,” said Mark.

Which is why, outside the art center, in front of a sculpture called “Confluence,” the Lawrances spread some of their sons’ ashes. What was supposed to be a limited run of JoeWill’s work will now have a permanent gallery.

In death they will continue to educate, inform, and – hopefully – inspire.

Axelrod asked, “It’s almost inconceivable that any mother and father could carry this burden. Why are you telling their story?”

“I want to celebrate their talent,” Jan replied. “I don’t want to focus on how they died. We want to celebrate their accomplishments and their enduring legacy and the artwork that they left behind. They aren’t suffering; they’re together, and they are one.”

The legacy of Mark and Jan Lawrance’s twin sons, Joe and Will, on display in the exhibition, “JoeWill: Better Together,” at the Indy Art Center in Indianapolis.

CBS News

If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis, you can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. You can also chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline here.

For more info:

Story produced by Jay Kernis. Editor: Lauren Barnello.

Jim Axelrod

Jim Axelrod is the chief correspondent and executive editor for CBS News’ “Eye on America” franchise, part of the “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell.” He also reports for “CBS Mornings,” “CBS News Sunday Morning,” and the CBS News Streaming Network.

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Art world descends on Hong Kong as Article 23 security laws spur censorship fears

More than 240 international galleries are participating in Art Basel this year, as it returns to full scale for the first time since before the pandemic. A related Art Week event, Art Central, features almost 100 galleries from Hong Kong and around the world.

The two events have been thronged with people this week, both serious art buyers as well as casual ticketholders snapping photos and selfies.

The government provided Art Basel with 15 million Hong Kong dollars ($1.9 million) from a fund aimed at promoting major arts and cultural events, which supported Art Central as well. Officials see such “mega events” as a way to revive Hong Kong’s economy and its international reputation, which has been battered by years of pandemic isolation and the crackdown on dissent.

Hong Kong Culture Secretary Kevin Yeung told lawmakers on Wednesday that the government was “committed to promoting Hong Kong as an East-meets-West center for international cultural exchange,” citing the city’s low tax rate and strategic location in Asia.

Art Basel has played down concerns about free expression.

“We have never faced any censorship issues at our shows, nor have we been asked to do anything differently since the introduction of the National Security Law,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “As with all Art Basel shows, our Selection Committee is responsible for reviewing applications and selects galleries solely based on the quality of their booth proposal.”

But that obscures the self-censorship that galleries may now feel is necessary to be included in major art fairs, said Wear, who published a statement last year urging the international artistic community not to participate in Art Basel’s Hong Kong event.

“They don’t have to do it because everybody does it for them,” he said.

Crack-down on dissent bumps up against Hong Kong’s cultural ambitions

The Hong Kong government has been investing heavily in the city as a cultural hub, opening the M+ art museum in 2021 and the Hong Kong Palace Museum in 2022. And the world’s biggest auction houses continue to express confidence: Phillips opened its new Asia headquarters in Hong Kong in 2023, to be followed by Christie’s and Sotheby’s later this year.

But Hong Kong’s cultural development has coincided with a crackdown on dissent in the name of national security, raising difficult questions for international art companies that don’t want to miss out on commercial opportunities.

“They know they have a problem, but they don’t want to talk about it,” said Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot. “Because the moment they talk about it, then they must face it.”

In 2021, a sculpture by Galschiot memorializing the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing was dismantled and removed from the University of Hong Kong, where it had stood since 1998. University officials said they removed the sculpture, called the “Pillar of Shame,” “based on external legal advice and risk assessment.”

Hong Kong officials have made it no secret that art could be targeted. The city’s security chief, Chris Tang, said in a letter to Galschiot last year that those seeking to endanger national security could use “artistic creations” as a pretext.

Alexandra Yung, a local artist, art collector and art consultant, said there was a feeling of “apprehension” among Hong Kong’s artistic community, some members of which have moved abroad. Artists now have to be “a bit more aware and more responsible,” she said, amid uncertainty over where the “red lines” are drawn.

While in past years Hong Kong’s Art Week events have featured art related to local politics, Yung said this year she “didn’t see anything that was political at all.”

“I think galleries are more aware of what they would show and what they wouldn’t show,” she said.

Hong Kong was required to pass the Article 23 law under its mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law, but a previous attempt was aborted in 2003 when an estimated 500,000 of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million people took to the streets in protest. Since the national security law was imposed in 2020, however, Hong Kong’s pro-democracy opposition has been all but wiped out, and this time the bill sailed through the legislature, where it passed unanimously on March 19.

The law has been criticized by the United States and others, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying it “threatens to further undermine the rights and freedoms of people in Hong Kong.”

The Hong Kong government condemned Blinken’s remarks as “misleading and erroneous,” saying the law is precisely targeted, its crimes and penalties are clearly defined and established freedoms will be protected.

Lawmakers vote for Article 23 in the chamber of the Legislative Council — A local national security law was unanimously approved by Hong Kong lawmakers on March 19.Peter Parks / AFP – Getty Images file

Among the aspects of the new local law of greatest concern to artists is sedition, a British colonial-era crime that Hong Kong officials have resurrected in recent years, said Eric Yan-ho Lai, a research fellow at the Georgetown Center for Asian Law.

The new law expands the crime of sedition, defined as inciting hatred or disaffection toward the Chinese and Hong Kong governments, and raises the maximum punishment from two years in prison to 10.

“There’s already strong self-censorship in Hong Kong in the past few years,” Lai said, pointing to the removal of politically sensitive books from public libraries and schools.

During last year’s Hong Kong Art Week, a video installation by an American artist was removed from a billboard outside a department store after it was discovered to be secretly paying tribute to the 2019 protesters, more than 10,000 of whom have been arrested.

In August, a longstanding mural was removed from outside a restaurant popular with construction workers because it depicted patrons eating noodles while wearing yellow hard hats, a color associated with pro-democracy protesters.

In recent months, national security considerations have also seemingly played a role in the cancellation of multiple performances. In January, organizers of the Hong Kong Drama Awards said they had been told that the government-funded Hong Kong Arts Development Council was withdrawing support for the first time in more than two decades out of concern for its reputation.

Among the reasons the council cited was the invitation of “non-theatrical people” as presenters at last year’s awards, including the controversial political cartoonist known as Zunzi.

Hong Kong Art Basel — A visitor taking photos of works by British artist Mr Doodle at Art Basel on Wednesday. Peter Parks / AFP – Getty Images

Lai said the heightened legal risk brought by the Article 23 law would worsen self-censorship, which in turn would “make Hong Kong become less vibrant and pluralistic and further discourage artistic communities from abroad to visit Hong Kong.”

The effects of self-censorship could also ripple out from Hong Kong to the wider world, Wear said, noting that Western galleries and other arts organizations have rarely contended with restrictive laws of this kind in an art market as big as Hong Kong’s. Like Beijing’s national security law, the Article 23 law claims global jurisdiction.

“If you’re a dealer bringing work, say, to Art Basel, or if you have an operation in Hong Kong, you may hesitate about having work anywhere in your system that might upset the Hong Kong or Chinese authorities,” said Wear, who was associate head of the School of Design at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University from 1989 to 2006.

Galschiot said it was the responsibility of Western arts organizations and auction houses to speak out on behalf of a Hong Kong artistic community that has been “castrated” by the national security laws.

“They must take the fight now from the artists,” said Galschiot, whose sculpture was reportedly seized from storage by Hong Kong national security police last year in connection with an “incitement to subversion” case.

Hong Kong officials declined last year to confirm or deny reports that there was a warrant out for Galschiot’s arrest.

Wear said Hong Kong is unlikely to lose its prominent position in the art world any time soon.

“The art market is very likely to persist, and very possibly even likely to grow,” he said. “It’s just that a lot of things won’t be possible.”

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As queer community mourns loss of 19 Bar, Walker Art Center hosts celebration of its past

Community pitches in to support The 19 Bar after devastating fire

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MINNEAPOLIS — An anchor of the LGBTQ+ community and Loring Park neighborhood in Minneapolis is getting a wealth of support after a devastating fire.

Nearly a week ago, 19 Bar was badly damaged after a garbage truck hit a power pole that landed on the building, sparking flames.

No one was hurt, but the loss is hitting the queer community hard.

“It’s just so weird not having that place to go to on the way home from work,” said Bubba Thurn, a regular customer and friend of the staff at 19 Bar.

Eight workers there are now without a job after the fire. The bar opened in the 1950s and is the oldest gay bar in the state, if not the region.

“You always expect it to be there. When you come to the Pride Festival every year, you expect to at least run into your friends if you moved away from the neighborhood at the 19 Bar,” said Thurn.

Sharing in that sadness has been tough, especially when their preferred gathering spot is what was lost.

But just down the street at the Walker Art Center, a colorful opportunity awaits.

“We just started brainstorming about what can we do? And so we came up with the idea to celebrate the 19 Bar tonight,” said Rachel Joyce, associate director of public relations at the Walker.

Coincidentally, there’s an exhibit at the Walker paying homage to the New Eagle Creek Saloon, the first Black-owned gay bar in San Francisco.

Events are held there weekly. Joyce said the artist, Sadie Barnette, was more than happy to welcome people into the space to honor 19 Bar.

Photos submitted by its customers will be projected across the wall as bartenders and a DJ curate the atmosphere people now miss.

“I am really hoping that it’s a joyful moment to reminisce on good times at the 19 Bar and a way to look towards the future,” said Joyce, adding that staff at the Walker frequent 19 Bar.

“I’ll be there and of course the 19 staff will be there,” said Thurn. “It will be nice to reconnect with a lot of people, too.”

In the meantime, two online fundraisers have raised nearly $30,000 combine to help the out-of-work staff make ends meet.

“I’m very proud of the queer and Loring Park community,” Thurn said.

In talking with the bar’s owners, Thurn said they are eager to eventually reopen the bar. It’s unclear if that will be possible by the time Pride Festival happens in late June.

Jeff Wagner

Jeff Wagner joined the WCCO-TV team in November 2016 as a general assignment reporter, and now anchors WCCO’s Saturday evening newscasts. Although he’s new to Minnesota, he’s called the Midwest home his entire life.