The Family Album: Questioning Memory.

The Family Album Questioning Memory. After 17 doddery age Im back in Shanghai and all along, my depot has been playing tricks (Otsuka, 200633). why do we take delineations for family record albums? We take them to re section people as they were. Traditionally in portrait picture showgraphy, it has been a promontory of argument whether a photograph piece of tail or female genitals non reveal the true sense of a person, their character or inner self. To me the photograph is merely surface a likeness -, it is what the photographer or archivist wants to be seen, and h over-the-hills no deeper resonance.In addition, non only do we want to regard as, we want to ack straightledge our lastence, and in the future, be ourselves remembered as an essential incision of the family unit. It is not only ab prohibited belonging, merely about leaving a take in of ourselves that will be around long after we ar gone photographs atomic number 18 tokens of immortality. The family album some(prenominal) represents what has to be continued and perpetuates the myth of the happy family, which can be construed in multiple ways depending on the viewer and their motives.The portrayal of the happy family is dependent on the various stages of edit the photographer decides who is included or left out, separates the subjects where to stand or sit, and when to say Cheese The collator thus decides which photographs are worthy of going into the album and which will be left in a box, or thr aver away(predicate). The editing and archiving follow perceived ideologies of family invoice, reflecting the editors own purpose and private viewpoint. Claire Grey believes that history is always a ain account (Holland Spence, 1991 108).But do these photos help us remember or do they alter or stand in the real memories of what happened and who the people in the photos really were? In this essay, I will attempt to explain why I believe that the memories imbedded in the family album are constructs, falsehoods. I am going to look at ambits from six photographers as healthful as my own family albums to ascertain the accuracy of warehousing generated by image. In looking at a family album, do I take different peoples and family members recollections and apply them to my own history?Collective retrospection can twist the uprightness and very practically construct altered variations. As stories pass from one generation to the next, they are prone to fabrication and exaggeration. Lorie Novak states, Our own images are often tied up in family legend with conversations about family photographs frequently accompanied by embellishment and invention. Photographs and the narratives they inspire can become substitutes for memories of actual events (Hirsch, 1999 26-27).She also wondered whether the information omitted from her own family album do her memories and studied this c at oncept in her work (Hirsch, 1999 15). Maybe this is the same for Ingrid Hesling, who, at the age of 16, found out that she was adopted I wonder if this new information changed her memories or merely her perception of her memories it would appear those that were once fond became bitter. She questioned her entire minorhood leading her to create work employ a combination of old family photos, text and her own contemporary images.Her work is an investigation into how memory can be altered depending on how you relate to the history behind it and the images documenting it. Analysing Numbers ( suppose 1), the shopping center is displace immediately to the smiling child clutching her toys, an image interpreted from the family album, then(prenominal) to the accompanying photo, and finally to its contents, the numbers which symbolically do not reach 16 and the text. The emptiness behind the child and the distance betwixt her and the numbers enhanced by the strong horizontals metaphorically represents the separation from the truth.The child and toys deal connotatio ns of family, comfort and office, whereas, the numbers suggest conformity, lack of individuality and belonging, being a number without identity. The subject matter is not immediately obvious until the text (both within and out of the image) is included. The sign impression of happiness is underscored and then submerged by a sense of unease, of anger and of betrayal. The original photo should evoke happiness merely the viewer becomes disturbed when the opposite occurs. Is this family image therefore a fabrication, only if because the way we see the memory has changed?Were things left out of the Hesling family album images in order to conceal the truth from her? In my own work, I use the family album aesthetic frequently. I seek out, analyse old family photographs, and try to apply them to my work. It fascinates me when I find images of myself as a child that I have neer encountered onwards. I automatically try to locate any memories associated with the image, scorn the fact t hat they do not exist for me, as I was too young, and attempt to remember stories I may have been told about the photograph.But this is not a true memory it is assimilated from my familys collective memory. Jo Spence said that trenchant for memories within family photographs, was im come-at-able (Holland Spence, 1991203). Trish Morrissey is a photographer who looks at the family album as fiction, carefully constructing the conventions and cliches of the domestic snap shot thus, cause reality by the act of staging. In this way she has created a generic family album, to which anyone can relate her family album has become everybodys family album and countless differents now share the memories.Anne McNeill states in her essay on Morrisseys work that the images in the shoe box are not the official history of the family, entirely the ones that got away (Morrissey, 200423). This is an interesting concept, in that the family deem some images more(prenominal) important than others pro per images are displayed on crystallise of the TV or framed for the wall, whereas the pictures that could be perceived as being more real, of daily life, are put away in a box or packet to be perused at seasons of reminiscence.I am attracted to Morrisseys work because of the questioning nature of her images. In kinsfolk 20th, 1985 (Figure 2), with her sister in the other role, she meticulously recreates the original connection between the subjects as well as the peripheral details. However, in contrast to most family photos, the people in her images rarely smile, forcing the viewer to concentrate on the gestures and body run-in and use them to interpret and reveal hidden tensions between family members. Such underlying tensions tell more of the history and context than smiling faces.Staging allows the viewer to witness Morrissey in the act of constructing photographic meaning. Colour draws the eye to the teen subject, her expression, and then to the contrasting expression of t he older woman. The title includes the date confirmed by the style and formulate however as it is known that the images are reconstructed and were taken more recently than the title states, this comprehension generates more questions than answers. She questions the truth of the family album. Her images constructed as generic examples, using, and according to, her memories and the original photos.But how accurately can these be recreated when ad hominem memory and current emotions are present? The reconstruction becomes a new history of her and her sister. Then we stool it is, and always has been, about her race with her sister, and this in turn, makes the viewer question the validity of all family album images the allusion to unconfessed family tension and the fallacy of the happy family. She questions the legitimacy of the entire tradition of the family album. Tim Roda is another artist who recreates personal histories using his memories.Roda uses his family to recreate def initive life-changing memories and moments from his life his son assumes his childhood role and he becomes his father. This strikes a chord with me as my current work revolves around the ideas of role reversal child becoming adult and vice versa. Rodas Untitled (Figure 3) initially caused me confusion and distress, as if a motionlessness from a horror film it is dark, shadowy, and menacing. It is plainly and unapologetically staged, but why? It makes me ask questions. What is it about?It is a narrative, but is it fact or fiction? The tv camera is used to record a moment in time that ratios between memories and constructed commentaries, yet it is a sustenance of real events for the people taking part in the image making. Although his family are the immediate subjects, the work is fill with metaphorical reverberations of family history and childhood memories. Initially the composition leads the viewer to the man. What is he doing? Then the attention is drawn to the child with sha rp shears, then to the birds hanging from the ceiling.These birds give a context to the image and place it someplace that is recognisable. The man appears to have been hunting and is subsequently preparing the animal for cooking. The scene suggests that that they are country people, perhaps lamentable and living off the land the father now teaching the boy by passing on traditions and skills. But is this a true memory or a corrupt, idealised memory? How much of it has been exaggerate or changed from the reality of the past? How would we know? Miyako Ishiuchi, in contrast, photographed her late mothers belongings.She neer got on with her mother but was distraught at her death, leading her to create a series of images as a memorial and tribute a catalogue of personal belongings, objectified in the images, but subjectified in the photographers mind. In this way Ishiuchi desire to create an emotional connection, a sense of personal closeness and history, she never had when her moth er was alive. The image is slightly off centre does this reflect the true relationship? Despite this, the images rest clinical and objective the daughter becoming the photographer and archivist of her mothers possessions, using them to create a pseudo family album.Although Figure 4, an image from the Mothers Series, is skeletal and ghostly, its forensic detail alluding to death, it is very simplistic and beautiful, with connotations of family love and loss in some ways a memento mori. It is aesthetically pleasing, like still life, but still death. The image is deeply personal and yet it holds universal meaning. She strives to seize a point of contact between the past and present. The meaning of this single image is not obvious when viewed on its own, however becomes clearer when viewed with the others in the series.It is a highly emotive collection of images, reminding me of my own mothers death, my relationship with her and how I dealt with her possessions and my memories of her after she died. One of my favourite photographers of the moment is Chino Otsuka. She has approached the questioning of the family album image in a new and unique way. At first glance, 1976 and 2005, Kakamura, Japan (Figure 8) appears to be an actual family album photograph, perhaps of a mother and daughter, maybe a holiday snap. However, once you are made aware of the digital alteration, it becomes much more interesting and poses many questions about the context.Otsuka includes verses in her book, which help to explain her intentions One by one, I retrieve fragments of memories and paste them all together (Otsuka, 200637). This has double meaning the pasting both psychological as well as physical. The final image is a construct both as a photograph and as a memory. At first glance, she could be taken for the childs mother, sister, or aunt. It makes me question familial roles and place within the family. She has created time travel Past becomes present, the present becomes the futu re, back and forth, travelling in time (Otsuka, 00631). This makes us question, if we could go back, what would we do, say or change? In actuality Otsuka photographed herself in 2005, replicating the correct light conditions, and then digitally compositing the new image next to herself as a child. The original image was perfectly symmetrical, with the child in the centre. The addition of the adult shifts the balance. But what balance has changed? Is it merely the symmetry or is it rather the balance of power and control? Here because the adult and child are the same person, the family album becomes a mockery.She speaks of memory, Until I look for it, it will hide forever Just when I have forgotten it, it comes into sight and when I finally catch it I realise how much of it has escaped (Otsuka, 200639). She is questioning her own memory and realising her memory lies to her. Even the recreation of the memory will eventually be corrupted. Here she categorically states that nothing can be received at face value. The apparent truth may in fact be corrupt, but to accentuate her belief in this dishonesty she has tainted it further.She may in fact remember the original memory but has replaced it with a falsehood. This event never happened, could never happen, it is an impossibility a opthalmic paradox. As my attention is drawn first to the child, then the woman, then the shadows, I seem to be searching for a reason to disprove the truth of this image. Why is the knowledge that it is fake not enough? Am I still so programmed to accept the photograph as truth, that I must find establishment that the photograph is a lie? How then do these photographers interpretations of the family album reflect in my response to the images in my own?Through family photos, I place myself within my familys history. If they, as I believe, mean nothing, then how does that in turn affect how I view my history and my memories? Christmas (Figure 9) was taken at my fathers parents flat in Gl asgow, in1972. It is not unusual in any way. It does not differ greatly from other family album images. In fact, the majority of families have very similar images in their collections. I, at three eld old, stand between my grandparents, seemingly being presented to the camera, with my mother and father (and the dog) at the back.My father, an amateur photographer, would have proudly taken the photo using the self-timer, explaining the not-quite perfect stance of the subjects. I assume it is an individual image, and not part of a series, although through the nature of editing as spoken about previously -, other images, taken at the same time, may have been discarded or lost. This means that I am unable to build a picture of the whole holiday it is merely a captured moment in time. My eye is first drawn to myself, perhaps looking for recognition, then to my Grandparents and my mother all three of whom are now dead -, then to my father.The image was taken in the tradition of family portraiture to commemorate the family being together (our family lived abroad and only visited Scotland occasionally). You would expect this to be a happy time, however, my grandfather and I who reputedly enjoyed and sought out being photographed are noticeably uncomfortable. On closer inspection, I can see that we are not in fact the happy family my father wished to depict. It reminds me of Trish Morrisseys work, where the tensions between family members are apparent despite the fake smiles attempting to cover up the real feelings.However, this image was intended only for family viewing, so why the faking? every(prenominal) the people in this picture will have been aware of the reality. Who are they faking for? I presume it can only be the tradition of smiling for the camera and a subconscious conveyance to future generations of family and friends that we were the prototypical happy family. Certain things in the image trigger my sensory memory, such as the material of the seat, the curtains and carpet, but I have no visual memory of this time.Roland Barthes wrote about his sensory memory being triggered by an image my mother is hugging me, a child, against her I can waken in myself the rumpled softness of her frizz de chine and the perfume of her rice powder (Barthes, 1982 65). I found an image of myself aged six that I had previously not seen, and although I do not remember the photograph being taken, I do recall the texture, colour and smell of my dress, and associated images of my Mother leaning over the sewing machine making it. are all these fake memories?Even if I cross-referenced with someone else that was there, their memory would be different as it is as personal to them as my memories are to me. To me this is the truth, as it is all I have. Is it better to have some believed memory, no matter how untruthful, than no memory at all? Looking to my own, more recent, family album images I have noticed that the family album has recently begun to cha nge in style and content, partially due to the onset of digital cameras and computers. It is no weeklong merely portraiture but also has a documentary style. Gone are the formal (or informal) posed portraits of individuals and family groups.People now take more pictures of their friends and family candidly, when the subject is unaware of the image being taken. These may not be intended for the official family album, but are most familys more personal shoe box pictures. This raises the question of whether the memories associated with these images are related to differently by both the photographer and the subject. argon these recalled memories more real than formal, posed images? As photography changes in our digital and computer based society, so does the way we take, edit and construct images for the family album.There are now fewer mistakes made when taking images. Only a few years ago, films were shot and printed, and all the images were kept, even the mistakes (cut off heads, f ingers in shot, badly exposed, etc), whereas, now, with digital technology, the editing is done in camera. The bad or unacceptable shots are deleted and re-shot before printing (if they are printed at all). There is now also a mass profusion of images, whereas before, due to cost of film and printing, families were more selective with their image taking, and consequently saved every image, however bad.Images now, are more liable(predicate) to be kept on disc, losing the tactile quality we associate with photographs. The family album is becoming no longer a literal book of images. They are spread throughout cyberspace on social networking sites. Has this effrontery the family album less value? Certainly the extended family can now have instant accession to the family album, but are they really interested in any other images but their own? Why do we insist on sharing our most personal family moments with anyone and everyone?Again, I think it is about portraiture the perfect, happy family as well as spreading our immortality as far and wide as possible before we die. These modern methods of image dissemination negate the importance and relevance of the family album as a historical document, and we cynically become blase about images in general. In Umberto Ecos book, The Mysterious cauterize of Queen Loana, the protagonist is struck with almost complete memory loss, and in attempting to reconstruct his personal history, he comes to realise that he cannot rely on other peoples remembrances.He is shown a photograph of his parents, and states, You tell me that these two were my parents, so now I know, but its a memory that you have abandoned me. Ill remember the photo from now on, but not them (Eco, 2005 24). He then retreats to his old family home and spends all his time in the attic, attempting to regain his memories, but only discovers that memory once lost cannot be regained, merely re-learnt Our memory is never fully ours, nor are the pictures ever unmedia ted representations of our past. we both construct a fantastic past and set out on a detective trail to find other versions of a real one (Hirsch, 1997 14). Similarly, Mier Joel Wigoder speaks of placing this photograph (Figure 12) of his father and grandfather on his desk, in place of an image of himself and his father that never existed. It is not his memory as he was not there, but it is a memory he wishes he had. He has invented a memory (or a fantasy? ) for himself based on a photograph taken before he was born. However, it is possible that all memories are created in this way.I have looked at other peoples family photos and used them to prompt my own memories of similar times, places and people. As Heather Cameron says, Our memory is a constant process of writing and rewriting, crossing out, overlapping images and distortion. It shifts and flows and moves without a fixed foundation (Cameron, 20026). grannie Goldin believed that by taking photos of her friends and family, s he would be able to retain her own memories of them and not be influenced by the memories of others (Goldin, 19869), but even in her candid style that seems impossible. Annette Kuhn states, Family photographs are supposed to evoke memories that might have lower-ranking or nothing to do with what is actually in the picture. The photograph is a prop, a prompt, a pre-text but if a photograph is somewhat contingent in the process of memory production, what is the status of the memories actually produced? (Kuhn, 2002 13). When I recall some memory or look at old photos of myself when I was young, I could effective as easily be remembering a particular thing because my Mother had related it to me when she was alive. However, I may be seeing these memories through rose tinted glasses, editing out the bad times before I can recall them.Personal family photos are not the only ones to generate an emotional response, and photographers such as Morrissey use this to effect. September 20th, 1985 (Figure 2) elicits an emotional response in me, making me laugh by triggering my own personal memories, remembrance of my own family album images and experiences creating a transferrable memory. Everyone has some images similar to this in their collection. It makes us measure our own memories and question them. The family album forms the basis of a pictorially gilded game of Chinese Whispers, as family stories and histories are passed down the generations.Memory is ever changing dependent on the viewer or narrators state of mind and intentions, and these stories, intentionally or not, become distorted, exaggerated or even fabricated. This is not memory it is learning, and the learning gradually replaces the real memory until, finally, it is completely lost in the past and the faked history becomes legend. Everything is not always as it seems in the family album. Smiles are often faked (even in unhappy, tense situations), and everyday tensions and power struggles between fami ly members are hidden, the very act of taking a posed photograph is essentially faking the memory at its conception.Thus family albums can be seen as fiction, a subjective story rather than, if there is such a thing, an objective history. The photograph can merely show what was in front of it at a unique(predicate) moment in time, but the mind takes this information and runs with it, creating stories around the image In short, to remember is to reconstruct, in part on the basis of what we have learned or said since (Eco, 2005 25). Figure 2 Morrissey, T. 2004. September 20th, 1985. Figure 3 RODA, T. 2004. Untitled.Figure 4 ISHIUCHI, M. 2002. (Mothers Series). Figure 7 ISHIUCHI, M. 2002. Mothers 24. Figure 8 OTSUKA, C. 2005. 1976 and 2005, Kakamura, Japan. Figure 9 PIPE FAMILY ALBUM. 1972. Christmas Figure 12 WIGODER FAMILY ALBUM. 1942. Louis and Geoffrey Wigoder walking down Westmoreland St, Dublin, 1942. Figure 1 HESLING, I. 2000. Numbers. Figure 11 BEST FAMILY ALBUM. 2008. Untit led. Figure 6 ISHIUCHI, M. 2002. Mothers 33 Figure 5 ISHIUCHI, M. 2001. Mothers 55 Figure 10 BEST FAMILY ALBUM. 2007. Untitled. 3