The Sophie Project

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Title

The Sophie Project

Creator

James F.

Date

summer, 2020
2020

Description

The last member of the older generation of my family was Aunt Sophie, who died in 2011. I wanted to pay tribute to them, and to her, by creating a piece of art. This came together during COVID as I had the time to work on it. The back panel is a recycled wedding invitation from when my niece Kimberly got married. I found the shiny old phone frame and the photo of my Aunt Sophie (nickname Dodo) and Uncle Brud (given name Ted), and built it from there using many disparate parts including miscellaneous hardware, paper cut outs from old Life Magazines and such. To my knowledge they married in 1946. They were trophy-winning jitterbug dancers. Note in the bottom right of the phone frame if you look closely you can see the legs and feet of a third person: this is my Mom, Sophie's sister Helen. This strange tribute to my family I call "The Sophie Project" and it came together organically, without a blueprint or idea about how the final product would look. I hope you enjoy its strangeness as much as i do.

Subject

Families in art
COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-

Format

mixed media collage on foam board

Rights

By submitting content, the creator of this item has granted Portland Public Library permission to disseminate, preserve, and use that content in connection with its educational and research mission, including promotional purposes, in all media in perpetuity. The creator of this item retains ownership of and copyright in the material that has been shared in this particular project & collection.

Collection

Tags

Citation

James F., “The Sophie Project,” Portland Contemporary Archives: Portland Public Library, accessed April 23, 2024, https://portlandlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/63.