Date of Award
Spring 5-2023
Degree Name
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)
Restricted/Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Abstract
Portrait of A Hundred Heartbreaks is a series that uses the unmatched sock as a symbol to speak about the experience of losing and grieving a relationship. Positioned as a series of memorials, the project facilitates spaces for viewers to bring their own life experiences to the project as well as empathize with those presented in the series. The use of the unmatched sock, an inanimate object, allows for it to be projected onto and melded into the specific and individualized narratives that viewers bring to the works. In its ability to access a level of specificity for each viewer, the project becomes participatory in the unique involvement that viewers have with crafting the work and analysis of it.
Throughout “Sad Socks Without Sole Mates,” the methodologies of Portrait of A Hundred Heartbreaks such as the removal of context, use of text, inclusion of specific details of the artist’s life, and the involvement of collective spaces are analyzed through three projects Crying Sock, Windsock, and Sad, Single Socks Valentine’s Day Celebration. “Sad Socks Without Sole Mates” places Portrait of A Hundred Heartbreaks in conversation with other contemporary memorials as well as artworks that use similar methodologies to transform works from solitary artworks to collaborative projects. Overall, the statement provides an overview of the sock symbol and how it functions within the series as well as contextualizing the placement of this series within the contemporary art canon.
Recommended Citation
Comettant, Shaelee, "Sad Socks Without Sole Mates" (2023). Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Papers. 113.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/bfa/113