Images(3)

Return to Kythera

Object number2019.34.2

MediumPaper; Crayon(?); Colored pencil(?); Ink; Adhesive; Paperboard

Credit LineGift of Frances Gialamas

DescriptionRectangular multimedia photo collage. Black paperboard backer with collage adhered to the front center. Artwork is comprised of an enlarged printed photographic image of an outdoor scene with a young girl in the foreground at center looking to viewer's right; dancers and standing people across the midground, trees in the background, and a gray tarp in the viewer's top right quadrant; the young girls' shoulder and head has a secondary collage piece outlined in white atop the large background image. In the viewer's bottom left quadrant is a partial family portrait and an American Airlines airplane. In the viewer's bottom right quadrant are three additional sections of the family portrait and a collage piece with black printed text. The collage pieces are drawn over using polychrome media, possibly crayon. DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth: 36.125 x 47.125 x 0.125 in. (91.8 x 119.7 x 0.3 cm)
SignedArtist signature in the viewer's bottom right corner in black ink "F. V. GiALAMAS".
InscriptionsAirplane collage piece along the bottom margin has printed text "AA" and "American".

Collage piece in the viewer's bottom right corner has printed black text which is incomplete by design: "America since before the Revolution. But my family had been riddled / tragedies and disgrace. / er way, I could have / of the DAR / find the / as / fragments".
Historical Notes“Return to Kythera” photo assemblage. “Return to Kythera” is a family photograph of the artist as a young girl at a family reunion in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania. The family was originally from Kythera, Greece. Multimedia artwork by local artist Fran Gialamas. Fran uses personal and historic photographs that she enlarges, hand colors, and then incorporates other imagery and objects. As she is working, she uses a spray mount that is repositionable so she can change things around as the work progresses. Some images, like Wonder Woman, appear frequently in her work. She has been working with historic photographs since 1987. Working people and specifically steel workers became a frequent theme in her work with the demise of the industry in the region.

Related institution Chatham University

Related institution Pittsburgh Center for the Arts

Related institution American Airlines

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