Found Photographs
The end of a family. The end of the line. This is what I thought when I found a box of old photographs. The faces were strangers but the occasions were familiar. Friends, families, vacations, babies, new cars, weddings………Who would discard the memories?
I have no emotional attachment to the people but still, the changing of an old image seemed irreverent not only to the people, but to the photograph itself. Some of the images are the original photographs and others were converted to pigment prints before my transformations. My attachment to the photos seems to be one more about family and friends, curiosity, and a sense of nostalgia.
The history of family and friends important enough to be documented through photography at one time has changed dramatically, of course, with the ease and quantity of creating photographic moments that has impacted the cherished nature of the photograph. My intent is to create new meanings, perhaps creating art from discarded images, once again transforming the idea of being cherished.
When taken out of context, some images begin to have unintentional meanings from the originals. We may never know the original meanings or their impacts on the intended viewers. Still, we could interpret similarities to our own lives.
The meanings that I construct may be humorous, beautiful, or sometimes disturbing. I reconstruct found or self-created photographs through collage and assemblage to create images that may be immediately recognizable, yet encourage the viewer to look closer to find unexpected elements.
I celebrate the ordinary and the things that make us human.