05/12/2025: Hi darlings! I just graduated college and they are going to delete my email in a few months so I am cleaning out my google drive and finding many wonders along the way. This was something I wrote for an assignment where we had to write a love letter to one of the pieces in our local art museum. At the time, I was particularly infatuated with one of Robert Rauschenberg's "Early Egyptian" works. Re-reading this letter helped me synthesize some emotions from more than a year ago. They took this piece out of their permanent collection, but I can assure you, I am still particularly infatuated with this ... piece of artwork.
02/2024
Dear Untitled (Early-Egyptian),
I hope you are doing well. I will admit, I avoided seeing you. I knew that we would bump into each other here eventually, and I took my time to prolong that as long as I could. I walked up and down the floors, cautious to keep my eyes on other people, because I knew once I saw you again I would not be able to bring myself to look away. I want to fight to keep my eyes off of you, because truly, how much can I like a cardboard box? The answer is apparently an embarrassing amount.
I thought about you hiding there in the corner, while I flirted about with Tina, and had a lot of catching up to do with Rocks and Sea. I apologize for avoiding you. We always end up having a nice talk. You draw a lot of attention to yourself, you require engagement. People press themselves to the wall to sneak a peek at your orange glow. I remember doing that the first time we met, you had so much to tell me and I wanted to know it all. This hidden part of you is what draws everyone, what draws me to you. There are parts of you that are alluring and beautiful, but you don’t want them to be seen, not in their entirety, just the hints of them. You’re attention-seeking, but you actually hate having a real audience. I avoided you because I know that you know there are parts of me that are alluring, that are beautiful, that ask for attention, but I don’t ever want them to be seen, not in their entirety.
I don’t like beige. I tolerate orange. But I like you. I’ll respect your secrets, I’ll keep them safe.
I hope you are well,
Stan