a nail, two stories exercise
Studies on Curator as author
Even in the most mundane of happenings, there can be two sides to a story. When the viewers shift their position to look at things from a different perspective, can the circumstances trigger new ways of looking?
With one nail, attached are two stories. First, from the perspective of the person encountering the nail and second, from the perspective of the nail. By displaying two stories behind a nail, I explored our perception shifts when looking at an object.
Nail stories:
Story 1
Perspective A: We were visiting my son’s girlfriend in New York. We were walking around an unknown area. I think it was downtown?
My son’s girlfriend said she knew where she was going…kinda. All of a sudden I stepped on something that went through my sandal. This nail was holding my sandal and foot together.
Perspective B: I was on a yellow wall holding up a picture of a couple. Then I heard the couple screaming at each other. I was all of a sudden ripped out of the wall and thrown out the window, hit a pole on the way down becoming separated from the picture and eventually landing on the street. Then someone stepped on me. I felt the blood spilling over my already damaged body.
Story 2
Perspective A: My first dog’s name was Claude. He was everything to me. He was there when I was depressed because my mom was sick. He was there when I didn’t have a mom anymore. He was there to comfort me through 3 break ups. He was there to unease the loneliness when I moved to another city. This is the first nail I had to use to seal Claude’s coffin.
Perspective B: I sat under a bed. It was cool under there. When it got too hot, the dog would come lay next to me to keep me company. My favorite times were when he would sleep next to me and his fur would slightly touch me. My loneliness was healed. Then one day the dog stopped coming. Someone swept under the bed. Maybe to get rid of the dog’s hair? Then I was picked up to seal something. I still miss the dog.
Story 3
Perspective A: My boyfriend lost his virginity to my best friend. I made a vodoo doll. I pushed this nail into the doll’s heart.
Perspective B: I was sitting in a drawer waiting. Everyone else around me was getting picked up to be used; to hang a calendar, fix a table, even just up on a wall for something to be hung. I wanted to be used. Then one day I was picked up to the possibility of becoming used! I ended up stabbing a heart.