The label below will be present in the exhibition alongside this piece. It is provided here so that fans submitting fanworks know in advance how fandom will be discussed in this project. However, fanworks do not need to take into account the below information and should be inspired by or responding to the piece of art alone: 

Kelli Connell 
American, b. 1974 
Reverie, 2006 
Chromogenic color print 
30 x 40 in 
2011.3.2 
Museum purchase with funds from Mrs. Jean Messmer in memory of Dr. Charles Clemens Messmer by exchange

Kelli Connell creates visual narratives, which she describes as “constructed realities.” Using a single model to represent two distinct people within an individual work, Connell uses digital technology—as well as precise, detailed manipulation of photographs—to produce constructed, realistic images containing two characters who are at the same time distinct and yet the same person. The result is a multi-faceted questioning of duality; of masculine and feminine, exterior and interior. Connell is interested in “not only what the subject matter says about myself, but also what the viewers’ response to these images says about their own identities and social constructs.” 

Alternate Readings 

Alternate readings occur when fans subvert or change a fundamental aspect of the fandom, or when they add additional details not included in the fandom’s canon. For example, a cosplayer (the term used for someone who dresses up as a character from their fandom) may subvert their fandom by creating a feminized cosplay for a hyper-masculine character. A fanfiction writer, disappointed by the death of a favorite character, may write a story that imagines that character alive and well. Fans may create alternative readings to fill in gaps within the fandom, or to bring the fandom back in line with fan expectations. Alternate readings can also simply provide new and imaginative perspectives from which to consider a fandom.