Peter Paone has described his work as the reverse of illustration. Rather than creating images to accompany an existing story, he creates images that feel as though a story is already there, waiting to be imagined, uncovered, and written.
Throughout Before Words: The Art of Peter Paone, we invite you to become part of that process. Seven works from the exhibition have been selected as creative prompts, with one featured each month from October through April. Look closely at the characters, setting, expressions, details, and strange possibilities within each scene. Then decide where the image takes you.
Caption This
Give the artwork a short, clever, funny, mysterious, or unexpected caption for a chance to be featured on the Biggs Museum's social media. Captions should be brief and engaging.
Tell the Story
Take the idea further with a short story, poem, dialogue, monologue, or scene inspired by the artwork for a chance to be featured on the Biggs Museum blog. We recommend approximately 300 words, with a maximum of 500 words.
How to Participate
View all seven featured works and submit your response. You may choose Caption This, Tell the Story, or both, and respond to as many or as few of the artworks as you like.
Submission Deadlines & Publication
Deadlines: Submissions are accepted through the last day of each artwork's featured month.
Advance Submissions: You may submit responses for upcoming months at any time. Artwork will be removed from the submission form once its featured month has ended.
Selection & Publication: Submissions will be reviewed during the first week following each month's deadline. Selected captions and stories are anticipated to be featured on the Museum's social media and blog the following week. Publication dates may vary to accommodate holidays and special events.
There is no single "correct" interpretation. Let the artwork spark an idea, follow where it leads, and tell us the story you see.
Look closely. Imagine freely. Write what comes next.