Wednesday again and here’s the Friday flash fiction photo e-mail. Our beloved Rochelle faithfully inspires our creativity regardless of the weather or the season. If you wish to join in, just skate over to HER BLOG and click on that frozen blue frog.
Funny what pops into your head when you see these photo prompts. This morning I got a notice via BookBub about a new book on sale today on Amazon: in his book, Hunting Evil, journalist Guy Walters writes about the search for escaped Nazi war criminals. I’ve read a few accounts on this subject before, enough to know the CIA— or its forerunner— had a finger in that pie. Then I saw today’s prompt — ah, modern art! — and the wheels started spinning upstairs.
PHOTO © Ted Strutz
ART MUST BE FLEXIBLE
Marcel stepped forward as visitors approached.
“And this object signifies…” one bewildered fellow asked.
“CIA activities in our world. This top wheel represents J-Edgar Hoover, the organization. These next three, international espionage, recruitment of foreign moles, political assassinations. This one, investigation of organized crime; the small disc underneath, wiretapping. Narcotics surveillance; scrutinizing politicians. This central wheel represents covert mind-programming experiments…”
The visitors all blanched; one fellow fainted.
The art director hurried over. “Try something different. Please! This is the fifth fainter this morning.”
To the next visitors Marcel explained, “This object signifies famous English writers. The top wheel represents Shakespeare…”
Friday Tales 
Seems like it could represent quite a bit. 😉
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You gotta be flexible. And one thing can be said for modern art: no one ever knows if you’re lying. 😉
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Dear Christine,
Semper Gumby! Flexibility is a good thing. Art is in the eye of the beholder and we can’t have people fainting in art museums. 😉 Your wheels were definitely turning with this one. I enjoyed it. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I had fun writing it. Thank you for your encouraging comment. 🙂
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Your interpretation of the photo is an art form in itself. Delightful!
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Thank you for reading and leaving such a generous comment. 🙂
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Deservingly so
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Those wheels are doing great service for art criticism
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They are, judging by some other bloggers’ responses. Nobody knows what it is, so, perfect art, right? Thanks for commenting.
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I reckon they have fun thinking up something new each day to see if the public will buy it!
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Perhaps they will. this creation would lend itself to a variety of interpretations. Hopefully someone will soon buy the thing and their problem will be over. 🙂
Thanks for your comment.
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Wonderful take on the prompt.
Loved your story, Christine. 🙂 Looks like they would need to keep a couple more options handy. 🙂
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He was making a political “statement” with his art — as artists are wont to do. However, he’ll likely find folks more receptive to the idea of Famous Authors than they are to CIA mind-control. 🙂 Glad you enjoyed my silly little tale. 🙂
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It can be whatever you want it to be. Nice.
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Not everybody appreciates “political statement” art, so if he wants to sell the thing, he’d better come up with something else. Though some artists stick to their “statement” whether it sells or not. Thanks for reading and leaving your comment.
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Very imaginative. I enjoyed reading this.
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Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it and left your comment. I don’t know why my mind went in such a strange direction, except that some artists do use their art to make political or social statements.
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This is very clever Christine – love that flexibility of meaning, where the artwork could represent pretty much any complex relationship you can imagine. Very clever
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Thank you. Flexibility is a very desirable trait — plus I can sneak in my rather skeptical view of some modern art.
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Ha! Nicely sneaked in there 🙂
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In other words, the piece could be anything at all to anyone at all. Seems to me a lot of art is like that 🙂
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“All the better to sell you on it, my dear.” Seems to me, too — and the more “versatile,” the higher the price tag. 😉
Thanks for your comment, Linda.
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Hey Christine, I like the way you story goes round and round… but so many famous British writers to choose from… will there be enough wheels? 😂
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Good question! But it looks like there could be room for another dozen wheels if needed. I didn’t nearly cover CIA involvement, either. 🙂
Thanks for your comment.
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Of course… we have to be flexible when it comes to art. Love the CIA cogwheels working which made me think of the three Jason Bourne films I just watched and of course that and things like MKultra could make you queasy
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The CIA has made a lot of interesting connections over the years, especially connections to drug cartels and rebels in countries hostile to the US. I only know a few details, but I get the idea it’s quite a world of intrigue.
And art is art. If Salvador Dali’s paintings can sell, anything can sell. Thanks for your comment.
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I love how you show that art is subjective. What a fabulous take on the prompt, Christine!
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Thank you. I had fun with this one. 🙂
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Indeed
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yes, indeed. to sell something, you must be flexible. 🙂
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True. At least for some artists the question will be: to forget about my art-as-Statement and design it—or interpret it— for the market, or expound my Statement to one and all, then cart the thing home, unsold, after the show. And how many people really want to hear about CIA meddlings?
Thanks for reading and commenting, plaridel.
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Your story made me chortle! Certain pieces of conceptual art undoubtedly carry a farmyard odour, and certain artists would pass muster as snake-oil salesmen.
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“Laughing all the way to the bank,” as the saying goes. It PAYS to be flexible — especially if your current interpretation makes people faint.
Glad to give you a chuckle, sorry about the odor. 😉
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Loved the imagination in this. It’s great how flexible he can be with the interpretation of the piece and how we can read into art anything we want.
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I’m so glad you liked it. I remember a comic about two viewers standing before a painting, a white canvas with one black dot in the middle, and offering various suggestions about what this picture represented.
And have you noticed that this same flexibility is what we’re learning here at Friday Fictioneers: how to read into a photo any scene we want? We’ll be ready to take the art world by storm now. 😉 Thanks for your comment.
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Your take on this is hilarious. Marcel could have a different story for each crowd. Well done, Christine.
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You’re right. He’s very inventive; maybe he should become a writer. 🙂
Thanks for your comment and glad you enjoyed the humor in my tale.
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Now this is what I call ‘thinking outside the box’. Great take.
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Thank you for your comment. I’ve been thinking even more and have come up with another scenario where Marcel could make a sale. Want to write that one today. 🙂
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Hilarious and clever, Christine. He’s certainly thinking on his feet. You did some thinking also. Good writing. 😀 — Suzanne
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Glad you enjoyed it. I like doing fun stuff now and then. 🙂
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LOL….this reminds me of my dad. He was a docent and the historic train depot. He said he would make up stories all the time to entertain the tourists (more likely to entertain himself!)
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