Go ask Cynthia.
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Cynthia lives alone and wears a lot of floral nightgowns.
Cynthia loves her stuff.
She touches her plasma globes often, with quiet satisfaction.
But its more than just pleasure that shes seeking.
Through the things she acquires, Cynthia hopes to find meaning.
In the show, the video narrative begins with Cynthia receiving an Amazon package.
It arrives via a projected stream snaking along the floor of the gallery.
The box contains a ceramic vase.
; the results stream out of the computer in a kind of virtual tidal wave.
She looks different from Cynthia no unflattering bob or bright makeup but the eyes are the same.
In her videos, Moulton uses those eyes to great comedic effect.
Cynthias brow seems constantly furrowed; she can never quite get a handle on whats going on.
She almost has no agency.
Shes sort of carried along this current of whatevers happening to her, Moulton said.
And Im just going with the flow.
That would be me alone, without ever becoming self-aware, Moulton said, laughing.
Moultons parents owned a mobile-home park for seniors called Whispering Pines, in rural California, near Yosemite.
Similarly, Moultons family styled their homes with finds from thrift stores and flea markets.
When you first go to art school, youre like,everything sucks, Moulton said.
(If that sounds heady, note that in one performance she poured Pepto-Bismol over herself.)
This is it: Art-making is the spirituality.
But by the next episode, shes back where she started, seemingly no wiser.
When nothing seemed right, I self-soothed by splurging on an expensive ergonomic footrest.
Moulton had told me that she would buy all the beauty products advertised to her if she could.
Im still looking for one that is going to do everything it promises, shed said.
And its true that the flip side of constant failure is opportunity.
Starting over means the chance to take another crack.
We may laugh at Cynthias naivete, but theres something inspiring in her earnestness.
Shes willing to give almost anything a shot.
She knows that enlightenment can be found anywhere, if only youre willing to look.
