Polly is known for her “fallen paintings,” i.e. artwork that “exists in a contentious space between painting, sculpture and installation” (Polly). What that means is that Apfelbaum incorporates a lot of intricate fabrics and undermine shapes, and arranges them into distinctive patterns on the floor. She enjoys tackling cultural topics such as feminism, postwar and other popular culture (Polly). Apfelbaum does not stray from this description in her famous painting entitled, “Single Gun Theory.”

The painting depicts various shapes and colours splayed out across a wooden floor. It is evident that the art is on the floor due to the bordering white walls and wall liners. The colours appear to have a “spilt” effect, creating the illusion or idea that multiple coloured-pencils or pint has been dropped vicariously across the floor. The painting also has a 3-D effect where the top of the painting gives off the impression that is further away. It gradually gets larger from there until the bottom half overwhelms the viewer into making it seem like it is closed like it is coming off the page. The walls themselves help issue the illustration where it is narrower at the top and wider at the bottom.

The elements of design come in an array of options that can be applied to the artwork. This includes, but is not limited to line, shape, direction, size, texture, colour, and value (Art). Each of these designs or structures can be attributed to Apfelbaum’s “A Single Gun Theory” painting due to the fact that it is so expressive and dynamic.

The liner marks are more distinctive on the surrounding edges where the colours are elongated. There is minimal sharing of the lines to each other because they are all marked individually by specific colours. The colours are one of the most vibrant aspects of Apfelbaum’s painting. It is what embodies the positive space of the artwork.&nbsp.