Art by Dan Sekanwagi

The Grapevine (gossip portion #1)- In Words

To be sure, “The Grapevine (gossip portion #1)” is an art study for “The Grapevine”; a much larger image comprised of numerous gossipers assigning each other the blame of having started a rumor that turns out to be about everyone in the community.

The ability to communicate with words distinguishes humans from other creatures. There are as many different languages as there is a diversity of the people who speak them. Strangely, while the spoken word may be uttered in different tongues, what matters is what the intended audience does with it.

In ‘The Grapevine’ series, the spoken word is a rumor about a certain community member. The rumor is delivered the old fashioned way; person-to-person. As it is being passed on, it inadvertently becomes a form of entertainment for the couriers at the expense of the one it’s supposedly being rumored about. Everyone receiving it seems to add their own spin on it -- so by the time it gets to the one it is being rumored about, it’s so distorted she thinks it’s about someone else. Since it is entertainment, she recycles the rumor the way she perceives it, of course with a little spice of her own added into the mix and so round and round it goes.

So, have you heard ...

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