Dad's Buddy, Ashley
Collage
8 1/2 x 11 in.
2008
While rummaging through some family photos, I came across a photo of my father and my niece, and I was struck by the realization that in the photos they were the same age. My father died when my niece was very young. He had Alzheimer's disease but always seemed to recognize and take great joy from her. Even as his memory degenerated near the very end of his life, he would always brighten up whenever he saw her. Upon further digging through the photos I found one of my father holding a very young Ashley not long before his death.
I wanted to create the sense of the time-line that connects these 2 people who were very important to each other and also very important to me. I used xerox copies of the photographs so I could control the contrast and scale of the individual images. The lighter copies appearing 'ghost-like' as to indicate that the subject had passed on to another form of existence. Frozen in time, the clock which overlaps the interior frame references the time that has passed since my father was 18 (as in his Army photo) and my niece turned 18 (her senior photo in the upper corner). I also incorporated several other items such as the newsprint and crossword puzzle to add a sense of space to the works. I feel that the text conveys the feeling that there is more information here than you could take in at first glance. That it would take an investment of time to get the full measure of the meaning of the relationship being depicted. Much like reading a newspaper takes more of a personal investment than watching a news blurb on the television.
The original, being made of photocopies and newspaper, is not archival, so I scanned it to be able to produce archival prints. After scanning I colorized the entire collage in a sepia tint except for the central image which I left as black and white. I think that by doing this it keeps this moment in time fresh and in the present. Where I sometimes wish it was.
Collage
8 1/2 x 11 in.
2008
While rummaging through some family photos, I came across a photo of my father and my niece, and I was struck by the realization that in the photos they were the same age. My father died when my niece was very young. He had Alzheimer's disease but always seemed to recognize and take great joy from her. Even as his memory degenerated near the very end of his life, he would always brighten up whenever he saw her. Upon further digging through the photos I found one of my father holding a very young Ashley not long before his death.
I wanted to create the sense of the time-line that connects these 2 people who were very important to each other and also very important to me. I used xerox copies of the photographs so I could control the contrast and scale of the individual images. The lighter copies appearing 'ghost-like' as to indicate that the subject had passed on to another form of existence. Frozen in time, the clock which overlaps the interior frame references the time that has passed since my father was 18 (as in his Army photo) and my niece turned 18 (her senior photo in the upper corner). I also incorporated several other items such as the newsprint and crossword puzzle to add a sense of space to the works. I feel that the text conveys the feeling that there is more information here than you could take in at first glance. That it would take an investment of time to get the full measure of the meaning of the relationship being depicted. Much like reading a newspaper takes more of a personal investment than watching a news blurb on the television.
The original, being made of photocopies and newspaper, is not archival, so I scanned it to be able to produce archival prints. After scanning I colorized the entire collage in a sepia tint except for the central image which I left as black and white. I think that by doing this it keeps this moment in time fresh and in the present. Where I sometimes wish it was.
