Good Grief!

I’m in Montana, and Good Grief! is in re-runs. This is my favorite arts pick because the comments are hysterical. Read the comments!

Today’s arts pick is an extremely dark and haunting piece. The predominant theme of the installation is, of course, the angst of modern day isolation. By depicting a common article that is well-known as half of a pair, the artist ensures that his work immediately evokes a sense of ambiguous disconnection. The viewer is instantly drawn into the piece and compelled to explore its context.

How did the subject become separated from its match? Was it a voluntary parting, or was the pair forced apart by a power beyond its control? Was the split abrupt and unexpected, or was it gradual?

The artist deliberately leaves these questions unanswered, allowing the viewer to progress and contemplate the piece’s more troubling concepts. Though it is portrayed as proud and erect, stoically accepting an unpaired status, it’s painfully obvious that the subject is useless without its counterpart. Furthermore, the still image captures the scene at an unidentified moment in time, supplementing the overall mood of loneliness with a hint of perpetuity. How long has the subject been in its current abandoned state, and how much longer must it endure?

Until the subject is reunited with its match, this installation, brilliantly displayed in a dingy, subterranean gallery, will be showing in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia.

Epilogue…

The happy couple has been reunited!