Jubilee City

Jubilee City (2007) is the autobiography of artist Joe Andoe.^[1] Andoe relays his journey from his drug filled youth in Tulsa, Oklahoma to his success as a painter in New York City. The book unfolds in vivid snapshots of Andoe’s life, capturing the moments that fueled his art and life.

Plot

The book begins in Andoe’s place of birth Tulsa, Oklahoma, the location of a popular department store in the 1960s, Jubilee City, from which the book takes its name. The first third of the memoir describe his childhood and teen years. Andoe presents his young self as reckless, with no attempt to control his dangerous impulses. Art is rarely mentioned, with the exception of a few pages concerning an art club at his high school. His first love, Kay will later become a major influence on his art, and be the sole human figure he will paint “ So after being in New York for twenty years, all of a sudden I had the urge to paint the human figure...They all looked alike. They were all the same girl with the round face called Kay.”^[2]

Andoe attended college majoring in art. It is during this time that he becomes involved in a turbulent relationship, which after marriage becomes rockier still. Soon thereafter the couple moves to New York, where Andoe and his wife have a child. The wife is the primary provider for the family and Andoe assumes the role of a stay-at-home dad, though he does continue to paint. Acclaim for his artwork begins to accumulate, and with success a more stable lifestyle ensues. Soon his wife and him separate, and once again drugs and alcohol, become a major part of his life. It is during this time he lived at the Hotel Chelsea like so many fellow artists. The book ends on a slightly upward note, as Andoe learns how to better balance his life and ceases to drink.^[3]

Quote

"I want to paint the way a smoker wants a cigarette. I never heard a smoker say, Oh, I really want to smoke but do I have to go all the way outside just to buy a pack"^[4]

References