Tears Dry On Their Own is an installation of sound and moving tissue paper. The sound of the installation is taken from the ‘women cycle’ films, melodramatic Hollywood films from the 40’s and 50’s. The making of these films began during World War II when the men were drafted and the Hollywood industry realized that in order to sell tickets it has to appeal to a new audience that was never marked before as a target – women. Typically, these films are quite tragic. Their heroines often defy social expectations when they seek a career or forbidden love. Towards the end of the films, they are left with an impossible choice. Many of these films end as the heroine decides to sacrifice her-self. These films were called ‘weepies’ and ‘tearjerkers’ by hostile critics who pointed at the unreliability of the plot twists and the tear extorting nature of the story. For many, these same features were the source of attraction. The music and the sound of a subbing heroine of the installation is taken from peak moments of drama.
Like the professional weeper or the laugh track, the tissue paper in Tears Dry On Their Own outsources emotions as it trembles and dances around the floor.
The CDA's archives are operating with the support of the Ostrovsky Family Fund and Artis
