Elena!Herondale!

PROFILE!INFORMATION! !
NAME! Elena!Herondale!
DATE!OF!BIRTH! April!20,!1988!
ADDRESS! 221B!Baker!Street,!
New!York!City,!NY!
CITIZENSHIP! American!
OCCUPATION! Art!Curator!
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PHYSICAL!DESCRIPTION! !
RACE! White!
SEX! Female!!
HEIGHT! 58!
WEIGHT! 110!lbs.!
HAIR!COLOR! Brown!
SKIN!TONE! White!
EYE!COLOR! Hazel!
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ADDITIONAL!INFORMATION! !
Elena!Herondale!has!been!a!Curator!of!Contemporary!Art!at!the!
Metropolitan!Museum!of!Art!in!New!York!for!three!years!after!
receiving!her!undergraduate!degree!from!Columbia!University.!In!
recent!months,!she!worked!on!an!exhibition!entitled!Unfinished:!
Thoughts!Left!Visible!that!was!on!display!at!the!Met!Breuer!earlier!
this!year.!The!incomplete!works!displayed!provide!insight!into!the!
artistic!process!behind!each!creation!and!the!unanswered!questions!
behind!intentionally!unfinished!paintings!(an!act!known!as!non#finito).!
Elena!is!currently!organizing!a!gallery!that!metaphorically!depicts!
implicit!bias!as!shadows!cast!alongside!humans!under!ordinary!
daylight.!!
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Journey!Poem:!!
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Scarlet!in!the!W ind !
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I.!The!Boy!on!a!Bicycle!
Nota:!man!finds!consolation!in!solitude,!
The!envy!of!loneliness.!A!porcelain!teacup,!
Warm!to!the!touch!of!the!living,!filled!to!the!brim!with,!
The!cream!of!laughter!and!holiday!cheer.!
Elena!speaks!only!the!language!of!the!self,!
In!the!coffee!shop,!at!the!hour!of!eight.!
A!moments!glance,!through!the!pane!of!frosts!breath,!
Caught!in!the!thread!of!memory,!a!red!scarf!brushes!past!the!wind.!
The!black!depths!stir!as!Elenas!lips!part!ways,!!
transfixed!with!an!ever!growing!curiosity!at!the,!
Boy!on!the!bicycle.!Cheeks!flushed!with!youth,!!
A!worn!coat!of!dirt,!an!anonymous!soul!within!the!crowd,!
Whose!lives!are!reduced!to!putting!one!foot,!
In!front!of!the!other.!Following!one!direction,!
A!moral!compass!of!humanity!does!not!have!a!price.!!
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II.!The!Bias!Within!!
Elena!forgets!not!of!her!untitled!writing,!
Notepads!with!scrawls!of!ink,!indecipherable.!
The!voice!of!Oscar!Wilde,!soft!with!insight,!
Elena!is!a!dreamer,!born!by!the!light!of!the!moon,!
punished!by!the!sight!of!dawn!before!the!rest!of!the!world.!
Her!way!of!knowing!lies!in!herself,!a!thinker,!
A!tinkerer!of!objects!bound!by!memories.!
Elenas!heart!pounds,!the!gavel!slams!down,!!
Official!judgment!is!made!despite!the!jury!of!one!in!its!own!right.!!
All!illusions!have!a!contradiction,!memory!returns,!
The!red!scarf!wrapped!tightly,!the!boy!rides!along!in!silence,!
Mistaking!innocence!for!repression,!
Seek!the!contradiction,!the!gateway!to!reality.!
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!III.!The!Vow!
Elena!returns,!the!corner!of!the!street,!
A!sight!reminiscent!of!yesterday,!
More!so!when!a!red!scarf!emerges!from!the!horizon,!
The!figure!without!a!name,!eyes!cast!down!in!forced!blindness,!
Elenas!voice!catches!the!wind,!her!shadow!mimicking,!
Her!outstretched!hand,!a!freshly!baked!loaf!of!bread,!
A!simple!exchange,!on!the!corner!of!bitter!and!sweet,!
But!the!boy!refuses.!His!eyes!speak!for!himself,!
For!he!is!not!hungry!for!food,!but!knowledge,!
A!keeper!of!the!secrets!of!authors.!
Her!hand!seeks!a!rough!surface,!her!fingertips!cradle!its!spine,!
A!collection!of!poems!for!the!boy!before!her.!
In!return,!a!smile!of!gratitude!and!a!note!with!a!promise,!
Which!has!endured!in!spite!of!lifes!happenings.!!
The!friendship!now!bound!by!the!glint!of!a!ring,!
A!miracle!whose!origin!lies!in,!
Adventures!in!the!pursuit!of!truth.!

Notecards:!!
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N O T E C A R D # 1 : ! Growing!up!in!New!York!City,!my!mother!would!take!me!on!walks!through!Central!Park.!
Rain!or!shine,!we!would!become!lost!in!its!vastness.!I!remember!feeling!discouraged!that!I!had!no!garden!
or!lawn!like!the!pictures!that!I!saw!in!magazines.!My!mother!hushed!my!complaints!by!explaining,!
central!Park!is!the!backyard!for!all!New!Yorkers.!You!do!not!need!your!own!to!experience!the!joys!of!
play.!As!an!only!child,!it!was!rare!for!me!to!find!others!to!share!gifts!or!possessions!with,!so!I!considered!
them!all!as!mine!only.!Central!Park!was!a!public!space!that!served!as!my!playground!from!then!on!and!I!
shared!its!secrets!with!the!other!children!around!me,!knowing!that!the!adventures!ahead!would!be!more!
fun!together.!
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N O T E C A R D ! # 2 : ! On!my!first!day!of!elementary!school,!my!father!was!given!the!honor!of!dropping!me!off!
early!in!the!morning!(ultimate!sympathy!to!him).!He!knew!that!I!was!incredibly!nervous!and!he!sat!me!
down!before!leaving.!He!told!me!that!all!of!the!other!children!were!in!the!same!situation!as!I!am,!so!
offer!your!friendship!first,!especially!to!those!who!are!alone.!It!comes!without!saying!that!there!can!
never!be!enough!kindness!is!the!world!and!opening!myself!to!others!is!an!invaluable!skill!in!the!artistic!
community.!Connections!form!within!a!matter!of!seconds!and!I!hope!that!I!do!not!miss!one!because!I!was!
unwilling!to!extend!my!hand!earlier.!
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N O T E C A R D ! # 3 : ! While!studying!at!Columbia!University,!my!professor!in!a!graduateilevel!art!history!
course!had!a!fair!amount!of!quoteiworthy!moments.!She!was!a!woman!with!a!stern!gaze!and!spoke!in!a!
hard!manner,!but!these!did!not!reflect!the!generous!heart!that!she!bore!towards!her!students.!During!the!
first!session!of!class,!she!spontaneously!decided!that!we!should!visit!a!gallery!being!showcased!at!a!local!
museum!for!there!was!one!painting!that!she!wished!us!to!see.!The!Goldfinch!is!what!it!was!named.!
Upon!finding!it,!my!professor,!in!a!tone!of!plain!admiration,!told!us,!you!can!look!at!a!picture!for!a!week!
and!never!think!of!it!again.!You!can!also!look!at!a!picture!for!a!second!and!think!of!it!all!your!life.!This!
reminds!me!of!moments,!people,!and!things!that!have!truly!touched!my!life,!for!good!or!for!worse.!These!
reminders!keep!my!history!alive!and!I!have!carried!this!lesson!on!with!my!work!as!a!curator.!
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N O T E C A R D # 4 : ! Elena,!you!can!cry.!Do!not!be!afraid!of!your!tears.!This!is!what!my!roommate!in!college!
told!me!after!my!first!break!up.!I!was!terrified!of!what!the!next!day!would!bring.!I!wouldnt!allow!myself!
to!cry!because!of!the!simple!fact!that!I!didnt!want!to!admit!that!I!was!broken.!And!yet,!I!felt!my!strength!
grow!inside!me!as!my!face!contorted!with!each!sob,!my!cheeks!wet!with!victory.!It!was!an!act!of!release!
and!sometimes,!what!we!consider!as!a!weakness!can!actually!be!a!valuable!weapon,!just!with!an!
intimidating!mask!to!scare!away!those!who!are!not!willing!to!see!beyond!its!physical!appearance.!
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N O T E C A R D ! # 5 : ! It!is!not!a!question!that!traditional!art!forms!are!beautiful,!but!I!have!a!particular!
fondness!for!short!films!!a!modern!invention!of!art!in!my!opinion.!A!friend!of!mine!directed!a!film!that!
focused!on!the!question!of:!if!you!could!have!a!memory,!real!or!not,!what!would!it!be?!This!was!after!I!
had!graduated!from!college,!and!was!a!photographer!for!a!lifestyles!magazine.!I!had!this!habit!of!keeping!
polaroid!film!copies!of!photographs!from!previous!issues!and!hanging!them!in!the!living!room!of!my!
home.!There!was!one!in!which!a!doorman!at!a!fiveistar!hotel!played!the!piano!late!at!night.!I!wish!that!I!
could!recall!what!piece!he!played!because!music!can!be!a!thoughtless!act!!an!expression!of!the!self!in!its!
purest!form.!Nowadays,!I!do!not!just!see,!but!I!listen.!I!listen!for!the!breath!of!the!city.!After!all,!I!am!a!
New!Yorker!at!heart.!!!
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 Picnic!Blanket!

LOCATION:!!
221B!Baker!
Street,!New!
York!City,!NY!
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ON!THE!BLANKET:!
Stephen!Graham! Farid!Khan! Elena!Herondale!
!Package!of!Bread! !Travel!Luggage! !Wedding!Bouquet!
!Notepad!! !Philosophy!Textbooks! !Polaroid!Camera!and!
!Pen!! !Pakistani!Decorative!Plate!! Collection!of!Photos!
!Pakistani!Pendant! !Standard!No.!2!Pencil! !Painting!from!Unfinished:!
! Thoughts!Left!Visible!
Exhibition!
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