Hand Phone by Tom Franco

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Found objects, mixed media – mannequin arm, watches, pink landline phone, handmade face, doll hair, handmade shirt and partial jeans, metal structure, and paint.

Living in Oakland has been such a special time for me and has been an immersive experience into black culture and community.  I find it a great practice to depict the community around me in my art to tell what I know and experience, which is my version of folk art.  Any time artists make work there is also a bit of creating self-portraits and putting personal energy into the work.  So, this is a bit of a hybrid of a figure.  The phone I feel like represents open communication.  Does the gesture refer to handing the receiver to the audience?  Who is calling and who is picking up the call?  What is the message coming through the line?  I like having open-ended narratives that can be depicted in multiple ways.