What do you want to Commemorate?
Begin by thinking about what is important to you. Are you looking to commemorate a relationship or someone who has passed, to capture a dimension of your childhood, or to celebrate something that you love?
What do you want to be reminded of that will bring you joy as artwork on the walls of your home?
Choosing your artifact is not as much about the object itself, as it is about the emotions and memories it evokes. So that’s the place to begin. We choose the artifact together.
Perhaps the best way to discover your artifact is to understand the depth of unique meaning my images hold for my clients, and for myself:
The glasses belong to my client’s late father who loved to read, and nearly always wore them. The book is in Armenian and from his library. It’s the very specific individually of the photograph that makes transforms it from the still life we can all experience into the portrait that it is for her.
If this project has a single inspiration, it was a long ago afternoon I spent with a friend on a distant plant in my backyard. Like any good Space Explorer, I had my trusty Ray Gun with me (re-discovered on eBay). I also found the communicator from my memory in toy form, and photographed that as well. I doubt even real astronauts experienced as adults what I did in my imagination as a five year old.
My client runs his family owned company that makes aircraft parts. Early on, they created a part for this WWII era plane, and the image was created as bespoke artwork for their office,
Growing up, I loved to play GI Joe (these were the original full size GI Joe’s with”Kung Fu Grip”). I had a Mummy adventure set and I loved to bury and unbury the mummy in the backyard. I found the toy again on eBay. What you are looking at in the image is the transformation of kitchen mixing bowl and a bit of dirt into an early morning excavation and the sun rises on the Egyptian desert and curse of the Mummy’s tomb stands ready to battle my intrepid adventurers.
The movies and TV shows of our youth have grown with us into adulthood. In these three images, I wanted to capture them in an unexpected light with a wink and nod to fellow enthusiasts, past and present. You’ll note that be it a wind up Star Wars Toy, a an enemy of The Doctor, or a well detailed model, I can find a new perspective that will bring you back to the love you had for your favorite stories throughout your life.
This horse ties to fond memories of family and growing up for my client. As an already detailed work of art in itself, my challenge was to add life and dimension while honoring the original object’s artist. In this case, I created a variation, with different lighting.
For my client, this ship represented adventure. As someone who also loves to be at sea, I easily understood what he saw in it. As the sun rises in the morning the anticipation of an unknown port is palpable, and as timeless as this classic ship from a bygone era.
I discovered the project during Covid, and began by photographing what I could find in my own home. For this unique image, the objective to photograph the “camera” that might create those images that might have naturally created the other images in this series.
This elephant was a treasured possesion of the late mother of my client. When my client came to see the artwork, she brought along her step father, who lives with her, who also responded to the work. For them, it is a connection to a lost loved one.
In my generation, the Tonka Truck was a right of passage, large, metal, and nearly indestructible. Whole backyards were excavated on a daily basis.
For the last decade, I’ve ridden a Spyder (it’s a three wheeled motorcycle, with two wheels in the front). Rather than photograph a model size version of what I ride now, I found something that reminded me of similar toys I had as a kid, and the rides I went on in my imagination. It connects my past and my present in a way that is meaningful to me.
My client ifondly remembers going to school for her degree. This hour glass represented her time reading and learning. I echoed the hour glass in the foreground with a second hour glass behind it to add dimension and physical beauty to the artwork.
My client was a couple who played baseball together during their courtship. For any lover of baseball, this image will certainly resonate, but this was one of their gloves, and the specific ball was chosen because they use it to play fetch with their dog.
My wife, Angie, recently opened up a skin care treatment room (she’s a Registered Nurse). Peonies are her favorite. I chose to photograph it as it neared the end of its life. The colors were chosen to be appropriate the image, to compliment her space, and to integrate with a wallpaper mural in a shared lobby area to bring the entire space together and create a warm and inviting space. My joy comes in knowing how much she enjoys it every day she goes in to work.
What to think about
It’s ok if you don’t yet know what to photograph. We decide that together.
The artifacts are all photographed on a table top, and generally range in size from a quarter to a violin. Toys and miniatures are extremely common, and the objects themselves are usually rather simple.
Many objects can be re-purchased if you don’t have the original. Most of the objects from my childhood were re-discovered on e-bay and Amazon.
This is not a digital creation, it is an in camera process that I created. So, when you see a car, it’s a miniature version of that car and my astronaut is actually part of a Lego set and stands just 2” tall.
Usually, the more specific the better. There are lots of spaceships, but only one Millennium Falcon toy you owned.
This much more about feeling than logic, so it helps to jot down every idea you have and to trust that something that represents a seemingly small moment might actually be the key to connecting with your memory of childhood wonder.