The 85-Year-Old Living Inside Her Own Art Installation | How I Live in London

[00:00:00]They talk to me.

[00:00:01]>> What these heads? Oh yes.

[00:00:02]>> What do they say?

[00:00:03]>> It depends on what mood I'm in and what mood they are in.

[00:00:06]>> Today I'm meeting the 85-year-old who lives in one of London's most unconventional homes.

[00:00:13]>> Brace yourself.

[00:00:13]>> Don't wear beige. It could kill you.

[00:00:16]It's not Sue Might.

[00:00:17]>> Are they real teeth?

[00:00:18]>> [music] >> Yes.

[00:00:18]>> Where flamboyant old age meets youthful creativity.

[00:00:23]>> When I first used to come here, I used to find it really overwhelming. Like, oh my goodness, like all this stuff.

[00:00:28]>> And where those who go in >> I'm very happy that you made this.

[00:00:31]>> sometimes come out as artists themselves.

[00:00:35]>> in here.

[00:00:38]>> [music] >> Eric and I This is Eric. Hello.

[00:00:41]>> Hi.

[00:00:42]>> We're going to see a woman who lives for color. What did they say to you? I said, Sue hates beige. And what is Eric wearing? Well, he's not wearing beige.

[00:00:51]He's wearing like gray.

[00:00:52]So now I thought I've got some bright dress with lots of colors. I don't I I'm worried now. I'm getting like self-conscious that And this is great to see you.

[00:01:01]>> I'm Stephen.

[00:01:02]>> Brace yourself.

[00:01:03]>> Why?

[00:01:04]>> Because it's crazy in here.

[00:01:07]>> There is not enough room in the world for a person like me.

[00:01:10]>> How would you describe yourself?

[00:01:13]>> Obsessive, bonkers, bye. I am ascending.

[00:01:16]>> Extremely colorful.

[00:01:19]>> [laughter] >> I I've just seen this. Don't wear beige.

[00:01:22]It could kill you. It's not Sue Might.

[00:01:25]>> [laughter] >> I work outside the mainstream. I have never had any training. I just make it up as I go along.

[00:01:33]>> And then we've got over here we've got ancient Egypt over here. You've got a housekeeper. How on earth does she manage to dust all this, Sue?

[00:01:40]>> A little bit at a time. This is where it happens.

[00:01:42]>> Oh, and as a kid, I would spend too much time [music] in museum gift shops. Every art class I was in in elementary school, [music] in junior high school, in high school, I flunked.

[00:01:56]When I was 58, I became an artist.

[00:02:03]And I'm now [music] 85.

[00:02:05]It makes me feel safe.

[00:02:12]>> The queen of slim cuisine, Sue Kreitzman.

[00:02:14]>> It was after a career as a teacher, author, and TV chef, >> the most seductive, the most vibrant and colorful way to cook, >> that Sue had an artistic epiphany.

[00:02:26]>> My hand picked up a marker, and my hand drew a mermaid on a piece of paper. And I looked at the mermaid, and the mermaid looked at me.

[00:02:34]And I gave her a fish for a hat, and she was in charge, not me. The mermaid took over my life.

[00:02:41]I never wrote another cookbook. I got obsessed >> [music] >> with drawing.

[00:02:48]I have to fill every space with something profound and meaningful, but they talk to me.

[00:02:54]>> What, these heads?

[00:02:54]>> Oh, yes.

[00:02:56]>> What do they say?

[00:02:57]>> It depends on what mood I'm in and what mood they are in. They each have animus. They each have a soul.

[00:03:05]You know, I don't just throw things together. They have meaning.

[00:03:08]>> Also talking to Sue is friend Jamie, one of a number of young artists who hang out at Sue's house.

[00:03:14]>> So, I stayed at Sue's last night, and uh I just came down this morning, and I said to Sue, "Look what's fallen onto my neck."

[00:03:23]And when I first used to come here, I used to find it really overwhelming, like, "Oh my goodness, like all this stuff." Now it's like a second home to me.

[00:03:30]>> And the young visitors just keep on coming.

[00:03:32]>> Hello.

[00:03:34]>> How lovely you look.

[00:03:35]>> Oh, hello.

[00:03:37]>> Sir, I want to be like one [music] of your sculptures.

[00:03:40]>> How did you meet Sue?

[00:03:42]>> She saw one of my bracelets that I was wearing, and she kicks to came at me.

[00:03:49]I loved you in from first sight.

[00:03:51]>> So, sometime I feel a bit inspired, a bit low, and I just come here and I get like all the creative energy. And when I leave, I feel all like pumped up and refreshed and and ready to make art.

[00:04:02]>> It's one of those space safe spaces for um people who are LGBT, people who are looking to be mentored. Like Sue offers that that that space for us.

[00:04:14]>> This is my museum shirt.

[00:04:17]Drama queen shirt.

[00:04:19]Drama queen. I am going to sit on my throne. And do you know about the goddess phone? This is another one of my obsessions and things. You can call a goddess on those phones when you really need help. They connect you to something mystical.

[00:04:35]And you never know exactly who's going to answer.

[00:04:38]>> I love that idea. And of course, everywhere you look >> neck shrines >> neck shrines >> Neck shrines are one of Sue's specialties. She's rarely seen without one. Made a sculptures to wear around the neck. Each neck shrine has a personal meaning, and Sue has made hundreds of them. And it was soon time for me to make a neck shrine of my own.

[00:05:01]>> Somewhere around here I have a whole box of teeth.

[00:05:03]>> Oh.

[00:05:04]>> Yes, right there.

[00:05:05]>> Oh, you're right. It says so. Sue, are they real teeth?

[00:05:08]>> Yes.

[00:05:11]I find things.

[00:05:13]>> Eyeballs. She's got a They're not real eyeballs, are they?

[00:05:16]>> Would you believe me if I said yes?

[00:05:18]>> Yeah. [laughter] >> What is then I I am an artist. I'm not a serial killer. Thank you very much. I'm in a constant state of art arousal.

[00:05:29]>> Does it lie nicely?

[00:05:30]>> Oh, yeah.

[00:05:31]>> I'm using the gifts that people have given me along the way.

[00:05:36]You have to have courage to wear things like this, though, Sue. You just need a strong neck.

[00:05:41]>> [laughter] >> People say to me, "Well, you can wear color. I could never do that." I'm an 85-year-old overweight woman from the Bronx.

[00:05:49]>> [laughter] >> If I can do it, you can do it.

[00:05:56]While we waited for my next shrine to dry, I asked Sue to show me where she sleeps, which must surely be less colorful, right? So, you when you lie in bed at night, Sue, here?

[00:06:06]>> Wrong.

[00:06:07]>> I'm just bathing. I'm bathing in the color. I'm bathing bathing in the love.

[00:06:12]My whole life is open to me and any room here. So, I just love it. I love every single room.

[00:06:18]I really do.

[00:06:20]And I love every single piece and I love every single friend who's ever made stuff for me.

[00:06:24]>> I'm trying to think my first apartment in New York, we rented it and they said we could paint it and that's the first time I could paint things the way I wanted. So, I invited my my mother to lunch, made her a beautiful lunch and she's looking here and just looking there. She said, "Huh, you'll grow out of it."

[00:06:48]Hey, Mom. I'm 85 years old. I haven't grown out of it yet. I mean, of course you have to grow up. You have to pay your taxes. You have to take care of your family. There are things that a responsible adult does and I can do those things, but I don't have to live like the usual responsible adult. I can be as crazy as I want.

[00:07:07]>> I'm about to find out what my next shrine looks like. Is it going to be ready? These two will tell me if I'm allowed.

[00:07:14]>> We the experts are going to examine.

[00:07:17]>> Yes.

[00:07:18]I don't know if I should kneel or something.

[00:07:20]>> [laughter] >> I think united.

[00:07:23]>> They Oh my goodness. I have to talk at the jurors well.

[00:07:27]>> I have to guess so much.

[00:07:29]>> How does that look?

[00:07:31]Wow. I like it.

[00:07:32]>> It's great.

[00:07:33]>> It really really is. It's fantastic.

[00:07:37]>> How stunning is that? That has been such a fun afternoon. I took that curiosity and creativity go hand in hand.

[00:07:50]That intergenerational friendships are real.

[00:07:54]And that there are so many different ways of living. And if you can sleep in a room full of art and creation and brightness and color, great. Good for you. And if you can't, don't worry about it. And remember, don't wear beige. It'll kill you.