Common Concern; Play It by Ear

 

Camryn Connolly

Boston University

 

In A Common Concern, a man stands over a woman who sits with her legs draped over the face of the painting. The narrative I ascribed to this piece is a scenario in which the man is shaming a woman for what she eats with the belief that she should work to be thin for him. The hand and container upon the canvas demonstrate the result of this on the woman who then changes her diet, eating fat-free items in an attempt to lose weight as he desires. In Play It by Ear, a man sits with his arms crossed over his chest and  his legs hanging down over the face of the painting. He has just arrived at this quiet spot after a busy day at the office and is taking a moment to himself before returning to his chaotic life. He isn't quite sure what he is doing, but is hoping that a brief moment of silence will provide him with some answers. 

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Ultimately, I want these pieces to give my viewers the pleasure of creating a narrative, just as I did in making them. In this series, I explore the idea of making a story out of nothing, and in turn, I want to lead my viewer to construct a narrative themselves. The addition of miniature sculpted figures gives the viewer more  information to help build their own story. Viewers will each create their own unique meaning behind the piece depending on their interpretation of the figures’ placements, stances, and clothing. I only provide enough information to lead the reader to fill in the rest of the narrative themselves.