There’s nothing quite like witnessing the creative peak of an artist in their prime, and this newly released masterpiece is no exception: Mom has put a 27-photo album on Facebook of just last night’s dinner.
Just fantastic. A work like this is unprecedented—though not entirely unexpected—from someone as prolific as Mom.
The album, which Mom released in two identical editions, one titled “family Dinner [sic]” and the other more abstractly titled “Uploaded From iOS,” featured a wide range of styles and subjects, from a series of five close-up pictures of Dad all taken within the same three-second span, to a still life of the pork tenderloin Mom cooked that was shot in grayscale, a confounding yet undeniably bold artistic choice. Even more fascinating was Mom’s decision to caption only three of the photos from the middle of the album, all of which were photos of herself blinking with the label “So great to have everyone together.”
Mom was clearly blessed by the Muses last night, and we should consider ourselves lucky to see the fruits of her experimental energy.
Arguably the crown jewel of the piece was the album’s 10 candid shots of all three siblings crowded around a single chair, almost completely obscured by several two-liter bottles of Diet Coke on the table. Though the album focused on last night’s at-home family dinner, it came to a fascinating conclusion with three photos that seem to have been taken months prior, featuring Mom’s friend Jeanne trying on a skirt to see how it fit. Further, despite only posting the album on Facebook, where hashtags are rarely used, Mom’s singular sensibility led her to ingeniously subvert her viewers’ expectations by adorning the post with #DinnerWithFam and #FunDinner.
It is easy to understand why Mom is proud, because anyone who sees this album will recognize it as one of her most fully realized creations.
Since she posted it at 7:50 this morning, Mom’s album has already garnered widespread acclaim, receiving a comment from her college friend Herb who said “Wow,” and from her sister, who was provoked by the work to ask “When is Kyle’s graduation party going to be this year? Xo Dana.” The far-away photo of the fully set dinner table that Mom took from the doorframe of the next room was especially a breakout hit, as evidenced by effusive comments such as “enjoy,” “enjoy yourself,” and “Love to see this family!”
Simply perfection. What an incredible exhibition from Mom at the apex of her creative output. We can’t wait to see what she posts next!
