We’re placing artwork in the gallery this week for the opening on Friday night. Fletcher (he hangs the shows) usually puts the art out there, rearranges it and then comes in and asks for my opinion/advice on where things should go. This is our statewide annual exhibit which means none of the paintings really have anything to do with each other, so it’s a difficult show to place. I have little reasoning for why I place things the way I do. Sometimes it has to do with size balance, color balance or similar styles. But this show is different; this show has a lot of portraits. As I was moving things around I realized I was making up stories about the people in the paintings and putting them by other paintings with people that fit the stories.
The sick looking children were already placed on one wall, so that’s all set. But there’s a painting of a disturbed looking woman in a wedding dress holding a glass of wine. I think her fiancé had been cheating on her for awhile but she was feeling the pressure to get married as she got older. The wedding party has been going on too long and she finally found some solace and sat down with a drink. But from where she’s sitting she can see her new husband dancing with the bridesmaids and looking at them in a way he never looked at her. She’s not upset because she’s become numb to the whole situation; she’s just unhappy and resigned to a loveless marriage of mistrust and infidelity.
Wow.
Anyway, I decided to move the disturbed-looking woman with her glass of wine by the dead baby painting – I don’t think the baby is supposed to be dead, I think he’s supposed to be at his christening (he’s wearing some serious Snoop Dog bling) but he looks pale and a little too still…
There’s also this family portrait. I can’t figure out what year it is supposed to depict. The father looks Grapes of Wrath-ish so I thought maybe 1930s, but then the mother’s glasses look like 1964, so who knows. They’re posing outside on their porch like they were having a snapshot taken. We put them next to this little painting of a highway. I decided they’re getting their picture taken before their family road trip.
Making up stories about people is usually more interesting than what is really going on, which is one of the reasons I think people gossip way too much, but I digress…
Has anyone ever listened to Delilah on 106.5? I never did until I went on a road trip down to St. George with a couple friends. Steve, the driver, seemed to have an itinerary for our road trip that involved CD listening, radio listening, regular check-ins on temperature, appetite and bladder status, and then there were scheduled moments of silent contemplation. Towards the end of the trip he turned on Delilah. If you’re unfamiliar with Delilah, this is how it works: someone calls in and tells a story about someone in their life that they want to dedicate a song to. It varies from a middle aged mother whose wonderful son is serving in the armed forces to a 20 something man who needs to let his newlywed know how perfect he thinks she is to a 10 year-old girl who wants to tell her mommy that she loves her despite the dramatic divorce. Sometimes there are confessions. Once Delilah hears the story, she picks a song to play for them. Steve introduced the game of skipping the story part and just listening to the song and then making up our own story as to what prompted that song choice. Way more entertaining.
9 comments:
Woot! First comment! Love the stories you made up. Lots of fun.
That story was so sad to me.
That roadtrip to St. George was goot times...I wonder how Steve is doing?
I love your stories! I try to make up stories too, about people whose driving makes me mad. I imagine that they just found out their wife is in the hospital giving birth to their first child and they must rush there. It makes me feel better and less likely to yell profanities in my head.
That is so awesome that you organize by stories you make up. That story of the wedding is way too sad. I make up stories too about art, but definitely don't go into that much detail. You have a gift! Haha. I definitely want to come see it! Does it start at 8? Or earlier?
I know it was a sad story. I got a little carried away.
Gallery Stroll starts at 6 and goes till 9. Come! We'll have good food.
I love your Dellilah game. It's a pretty easy show to make fun of, so I'm glad you were able to get something good out of it.
Yes, I know Delilah...and until the game you mentioned, I thought it was the most pukey show on the radio. Thanks for livening it up.
Sounds like you are a feeling a bit Octobery right now. Remember Prof. Marshall talking about that artist (did his name start with a "B"?) making him feel that way?
I like the stories. I like gossip too.
I'm working on that, though. Better stick to making up stories about imaginary people.
I like your Delilah game. Reminds me of a game I played in high school with a friend. We would turn on Jerry Springer (a tad different crowd than Delilah) and mute the show. We made up our own drama. Ours was probably better than the real show.
Post a Comment