Photo by Lee Vuitton.
Heather Heslup is Destination Crenshaw’s director of public art projects. Before joining us for the Zócalo and Destination Crenshaw public program “Is Car Culture the Ultimate Act of Community in Crenshaw?,” she chatted with us in the green room about the author Isabel Wilkerson, being an X-Men nerd, and what work of art best describes her career thus far.
What’s your favorite drive?
Driving down the coast and letting the breeze hit me. But more frequently these days I’m driving to the valley to visit my niece and nephew. All the way from Inglewood so it’s usually a trek. That might be my favorite actually, because I get to see them.
You’re from Chicago. Where was your favorite place to go growing up?
I’m a water kid. So going to the lake. We have our own beach. It is an actual beach—I know a lot of Californians can’t believe it, but Lake Michigan looks like an ocean. You can’t see the other side.
What’s the last book you read that you loved?
I just re-read Caste. Isabel Wilkerson is my absolute favorite author. Caste really takes you on that journey and unpacks the ills of the American racial system, and shows how this is really more of a caste system that is an innately human ill, and not just an American ill, and that can, I think, be rectified if we actually try. All of those dots she connected with that book is just profound.
Your career has spanned media, theater, art, and education. What’s one work of art that best describes the journey?
I would say a Basquiat—any one. Because to the outside eye, it looks a little chaotic, and you can’t really figure it out. And honestly, that’s how it was in the beginning. I’m a little bit more focused now, but I’m still letting life unfold. And I think art does that. Especially abstract art. Especially Basquiat.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
“Purple Rain.” It was the first karaoke song I ever did. I did it in high school. My sister is a cancer survivor. She’s younger than me. And it was at a hospital holiday party when she was undergoing treatment. I said it was my ode to her, but it was also just because I’m a Prince fanatic. I’m 41 now, this was when I was like 17, and I’ve spent all this time perfecting it. It is really a scene. My “Purple Rain” is an experience. Second only, maybe, to Prince.
What’s the last piece of pop culture you consumed that made an impact on you?
X-Men ’97. I’m such a nerd. Watching that on Saturdays when I grew up was amazing. So watching it now was just like a little break from adult life.