Lily Franck: Hope Chest

Artist Statement

When I was 13, I begged my mother to let me look through her hope chest. It was a distant remnant of generations of tradition – cedar boxes young girls once filled with the stitched and sewn flora and decor of their domestic futures. My mother assured me her hope chest contained more junk than hope. But I was persistent and she relented. I was entranced by the ephemera inside. Then, that trunk sat unopened for nearly a decade. Hope Chest is about me, at age 21, returning to that trunk – at first with a measure of irony and cynicism for what it represents. But despite myself, I was again drawn in – entranced, not only
by the texture and richness of the hodgepodge time capsule but by the portrait it painted of my mother as a girl. I made this film to remember her. I made it to honor the relationship we share not only with each other but with the traditions that fade and yet endure.

About the Project

• Title of Work: Hope Chest
• Medium: "Hope Chest" is a stop motion video with a 4:16 runtime. 
• Student's Name: Lily Franck
• Major: Digital Storytelling and Journalism
• Anticipated Graduation Date: 25-May
• Hometown: St. Louis, MO
• Student's Mentor: Lynn Kim
• Mentor's Department: Digital Storytelling