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AUSTIN (KXAN) – As we age, do we think about slowing down with age, or can we change that mindset and vice versa?
I started my fitness journey almost two years ago, at the age of 41, and today I am physically, mentally, and spiritually stronger than I was in my early 20s. For me, it’s movement and community that keep my heart beating and my mind young.
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That mindset is reinforced every day in a senior community in South Austin.
“There is no age limit to their passion,” said Whitne Batiste, director of healthy living at Elmcroft Senior Living.
The first time she walked the hallways of the residential center, Batiste was full of inspiration after meeting the women and men who call Elmcroft home.
“I was told by a resident that she played the piano at Carnegie Hall. We have an ex-dean of the University of Texas. We have a missionary who has been doing things overseas in Haiti, ”Batiste said. “Lots of respected people live here who just want to be of service.”
90-year-old Claude van Lingen also belongs to the group. I met him earlier this month at the Blanton Museum of Art when he was giving a tour of the artwork to his friends from home.
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Claude is a familiar face at Blanton. As he stepped through the doors, front lobby workers and security guards smiled quickly and greeted their former museum volunteer.
He walked the floors of the museum for almost 10 years. The humble man from South Africa knows a lot about art, especially the piece “1000 Years from Now: I Am Right, You Are Wrong” hanging on the second floor. It is one of his many works of art exhibited from around the world.
Claude’s “1000 Years from Now: I Am Right, You Are Wrong” can be seen on the second floor of the Blanton Museum of Art. (Video by Jose Torres)
In the past when he introduced this piece, he did it with a bit of a flicker – with a hammer, to be precise.
“I looked at people and said, ‘I’m right and you’re wrong! Bam! Bam! ‘”Claude shared with his friends the excitement he felt the day his work came to New York simulating reaching for a hammer and smashing his work of art.
Claude van Lingen settled in Austin in 2006. From 2008-2017 he was an adjunct professor at Austin Community College. The 90-year-old has studied all over the world, including in his home country South Africa, Paris and New York. (Video by Jose Torres.) Previous blog: We love our mothers and the conversations we fear as carers
In that particular piece he wrote at the top of his canvas, “I’m right, you’re wrong,” and then kept repeating the same line down. After that he wrote over and over again on these lines until the scriptures went dark.
“All of my work has to do with what’s going on in the world, the environment, politics and the struggles,” he said.
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This is his signature work that he began researching in 1978. He wrote names on top of one another from lists, he did so after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He’s always thinking of new art projects. He shared his latest idea at the museum when I asked him about future artwork. This affects his friends at home. He wants everyone to write their names on four by eight feet of paper, along with the words I’m right, you’re wrong. Claude is currently working on what he calls a Reflection of 2020.
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“It’s going to be a real mess of all of the rubbish, all of the rubbish that happened in 2020,” he said.
When he’s not working on his art, Claude helps welcome new members to Elmcroft. He is the new Resident Ambassador, a job that is perfect for a man who is used to walking and talking.
“They still want to feel that they can help them – this is very important to them because they can still make a contribution. Regardless of her age, we still need her, ”said Batiste.
“You are the reason we’re here. Let this be the reason you show appreciation. Let that be the reason you realize, ‘I didn’t come here alone’, someone had to lay the foundation. These are our elders. They show love as they grow up, they were there for everyone growing up, and sometimes it seems like nobody is there for them. “
Whitne batiste
Batiste had the chance to see Claude’s current piece in 2020. She describes it as a blockbuster film that will blow your mind.
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“You mix Fast and Furious, you mix the Terminator, you mix the Avengers, the Transformers, you mix all of that into a movie, and it’s on a work of art, and to say it isn’t even finished and it looks like this good, “she explained.” I’m not an art person, but the way he explains it and how he puts the piece together you’ll be amazed when the world sees it. “
What keeps Claude motivated?
“I just have to keep myself busy all the time, I can’t really sit and do nothing,” he said simply.
At the beginning of June I met Claude van Lingen and his friends from Elmcroft. The 90-year-old keeps himself young by working diligently on art projects. (Photo by Jose Torres)
Jose Torres is a morning news producer at KXAN. His blog will bring stories of hope and determination from others who have struggled their own health struggles and life challenges. He looks forward to sharing these conversations on future blogs.
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