Gregor's Room

 

Comfort & Isolation

A visual response to the short story The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka 

White copy paper, Ink, (No Adhesives)

Largest Sculpture measures: 7" x 5" x 4"

Details: 

Artist Statement: 

The sculptures reflect my perception of the short story The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. Before reading the story, I researched it a little and discovered that Kafka wrote the story during the early 1900s. This information helped me realize what furniture I thought he would have in his room like a trunk and metal pole headboard. The descriptions of the room given within the story lead me to imagine a very drab- dirty looking room, this is also because he is a large bug which I associate with being dirty. Another aspect of the story that affected my interpretation was the fact that he was trapped within a single room. This isolation also makes me think of things getting very dirty as he was confined to one room for an extended amount of time. The bed especially reflects his confinement. I wanted the bed to look especially dirty as he expresses having nightmares, so I imagined frequent sweating at night- without ever washing the sheets plus being a dirty bug. I even made the bed posts to look rusty and worn down. The square brown sculpture is supposed to be a trunk suitcase, which was common for the time period and it is what I imagined Gregor having for his travel intensive job. On top of the trunk is a sliver platter and two bowls containing the rotten food that he actually can eat. 

Gregor's Room Work in Progress