“At the height of the pandemic, Michael had the brilliant idea to donate a painting to every employee in a hospital, specifically in New York, because New York was struggling harder,” said Eli Bronner, manager and distributor for Gittes. CNN
Gittes enlisted Bronner to help him find the perfect hospital for the donation.
By Gittes’ specifications, it had to be a nonprofit hospital in an underserved community, with an intensive care unit treating coronavirus patients. It had to be small enough for Gittes to paint a unique and original painting for every staff member, from doctors and administrators to janitors, security guards and cafeteria workers, Bronner said.
They decided that the Interfaith Medical Center in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn would be the perfect option for the project.
At the peak of the coronavirus spread in New York, Interfaith Medical Center was 90% occupied by patients suffering from coronaviruses, the hospital’s CEO, LaRay Brown, told CNN.
“On April 12, we had 136 patients with Covid-related illnesses,” said Brown. “We were essentially a Covid hospital.”
The framing and shipping of the paintings across the continent was made possible by funds raised from collectors, according to Bronner. The paintings arrived in Brooklyn on Monday in 40 boxes and were distributed on Thursday, Brown told CNN.
“When they really touched and saw the paintings, it was like Christmas,” Interfaith chief financial officer Tracy Green told CNN.
“They felt that … they had been working tirelessly for the past few months and had someone see him and give them a gift, they were so happy,” Green said.
“These flowers belong to everyone”
According to Bronner, Gittes wanted to fight the feeling of helplessness caused by the pandemic and use his art to pay tribute to health workers.
The project, titled “Strangers to Nobody,” aims to tell frontline workers that they are loved by the artist and the world as they fight this difficult war on the coronavirus.
“You are loved by millions of people you will never meet. You are not a stranger to anyone. And these flowers belong to everyone,” Bronner broadcast from Gittes.
The acrylic paints were created with syringes, establishing a connection between the artist and the hospital workers.
“In both cases, they are using a syringe to help others heal,” Bronner told CNN.
Gittes painted a flower for each hospital worker because workers are like flowers in a garden and support all aspects of life, Bronner explained.
By sending art home, Gittes wants to offer them “a moment of peace from madness,” Bronner said.
“I think a lot of people don’t realize how mentally, physically and emotionally this pandemic has been, not only for our medical and hospital workers, but also for their families,” said Bronner.
CEO Brown told CNN it may be related to that sentiment.
“Most of us were working seven days a week, 18 hours a day,” said Brown.
“We are all dealing with the fact that we want to be cautious and protect our families, and deal with our personal losses.”
Brown lost two family members to the virus, he told CNN. The virus, he said, “has touched everyone’s life.”
A gift in motion
When he first approached Gittes’ intention to donate paintings to each of the Interfaith workers, Brown said his reaction was skeptical. After all, Gittes is based in Los Angeles and has no connection to Brooklyn.
“It was almost like, why?” Brown told CNN.
The more the project was discussed, the more Gittes’ intentions “really touched us all,” Brown said.
Brown told CNN that the analogy between hospital workers and a life that sustains the garden really spoke to hospital staff. It recognizes the role not only of doctors and nurses who fight the virus every day, but also of employees in other departments whose supporting role keeps the hospital running.
“When you’re not on the front line and you’re payroll so the nurses can get paid, or you’re just paying bills so we can get our PPE … they felt so good they were seen for what they were doing,” he said. Green, chief financial officer of the hospital.
‘There is still no magic bullet’
“Fortunately, we can all breathe a little easier now,” said Brown.
But in the spring, the situation was very different.
To help quantify the strain applied by the coronavirus in the hospital, Interfaith chief of operations Charles Bove said the number of portable “e-cylinder” oxygen tanks used daily went from 88 to more than 200.
The pandemic also lengthened the amount of time patients were in the hospital, which essentially doubled from an average of about five days to about 10 days, Green told CNN.
The hospital is gearing up for a resurgence of cases in the fall and Brown said staff want people to understand the importance of recommendations like wearing a mask and practicing social distancing.
“If they had seen young men come in with mild symptoms and, within hours, they were suddenly unable to breathe, and within minutes after having to undergo intubation and some people died, they would not be so irresponsible.” Brown said, emphasizing his concern that people become complacent throughout the summer.
“The least you can do is wear a mask, distance yourself socially, wash your hands,” Brown told CNN.
As the pharmaceutical industry rushes to find a vaccine and progress is being made in treating the virus, Brown said people should use the tools that are proving to be effective.
“There is still no magic bullet,” he said.
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