Cheryl

2005, 26:39 min, color, sound

In Cheryl, Donegan's starting point is the appropriated audio of a self-motivating corporate monologue by a woman named Cheryl. A model of forced enthusiasm, this stand-in repeats a rapid litany of retail clichés and personal encouragements ("I am a winner!") as positive thinking turns to desperate urgency. This found audio is coupled with a flow of images taken directly from the Web; each image features a cheaply made, kitschy consumer item. Donegan puts each low-resolution image through the same formal process of enlargement and transition. This standardization both elevates the generic objects and revels in their uselessness. Presenting "Cheryl" the home-shopping motivator as a surrogate and cheesy consumer goods as art objects, Cheryl the artist questions hype and material value in a personality-driven art market.