Signs to Stop

Author

Finn Tait, Bard CollegeFollow

Date of Submission

Spring 2022

Academic Program

Studio Arts; Written Arts

Project Advisor 1

Maggie Hazen

Project Advisor 2

Jenny Xie

Abstract/Artist's Statement

Take this as a Sign-

At night it is so much easier to believe a story. There is a forgiveness at night, an expanding of what might be possible. I first learned how to tell stories in the dark, from listening to my dad's voice as I drifted off to sleep, from the whispered voices of my friends around a fire, from the car tape player on a long drive home. It is easy to imagine that something terrible stands just beyond the headlight's reach, looks back at you from your dark bathroom mirror, or lurks just behind your bedroom door. Fear makes what is impossible in the day real.

We inherited these stories, this fear, from generations before us. There has always been someone sitting in the dark, painting the walls with what goes bump in the night while a candle flame makes them leap and peel from the wall. Touch the wall and it will mark you, tune the radio and the station will follow you home. Do you feel it? How easy it is to believe?

The signs loom large and bright from the darkness, warning you of sharp turns and sudden stops. These signs are a gift, a story for us to tell together, for you to take with you and tell again. You trust them don't you? If you could, if you wanted to, would you trust me to?

Open Access Agreement

Open Access

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Tait, Finn, "Signs to Stop" (2022). Senior Projects Spring 2022. 210.
https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/senproj_s2022/210