Graven Image

Graven Image is a three-person drama about fathers and daughters, the history of western art, and the things that the young can teach the old.

An art student, Greta, working as a housepainter befriends a widower (Turner) and reignites his interest in life, sparking a nascent creative urge: he starts taking long walks in a nearby park and making abstract sculptures from household materials. But Turner’s daughter, Deirdre, finds their friendship and Greta’s influence on her father troubling. When Deirdre sees Turner’s sculptures, her fears are confirmed. She confronts the two of them with her view of their relationship, and the family history that comes to light sends Greta fleeing and Turner into a tailspin.

Act Two opens with a monologue as Turner wanders through his house, sleepless and heartsick, and relives the tragedy that Deirdre only hinted at. Unable to reach her father and fearing his decline, Deirdre appeals to Greta to try and re-engage him. Reluctantly, Greta returns to Turner’s house, where he is reiterating the beginnings of art history in an attempt to expiate the great “sin” of his life.