One of my passions when I travel is to seek out small house museums and personal
collections. The examination of someone's personal ephemera provides a glimpse into their passions, fascinations, and most cherished memories. In "Modest Manifesto for Museums," Orhan Pamuk contends that museums, instead of advancing the narratives of nations, should move to reconstruct the world of individual human
beings: "Large national museums present the history of the nation - history, in a word
- as being far more important than the histories of individuals. This is unfortunate
because everyday stories of individuals are richer, more humane, and much more
joyful. The stories of individuals are much better suited to displaying the depths of our
humanity."
Through the act of collecting and photographing, the objects in this series transcend
their original purpose for the owner, rising to the status of artifact. The object becomes more than a personal touchstone, it acts as a visual symbol, a synthesis, of a particular person or an event. My criteria in choosing the objects are largely
subjective, based on whether the item appeals to me either viscerally or intellectually,
or sometimes it invoked a vivid memory. They are tracked down, collected and
organized according to my interests, resulting in a personal cultural history.
I find that these often homely items are beautiful in their own right as sculptural
objects. They additionally take on symbolic resonance with the revelation of their
owner, maker, or backstory. Bearing witness of events and people through objects.
Some become items of inspiration when viewed within the context of the owner's life.
For example, Shimmy Baum's hand-rigged eyeglasses, which he invented in order to
continue his Talmudic studies after he began to lose his sight, or the ephemera
carefully collected and cataloged by Henry Darger that he incorporated into his
artworks. Other artifacts are visible fallout from periods of emotional strife, again,
personal and collective. The pocket knife, mace, and Molotov cocktail that were used
as evidence against the Chicago Seven, whose provenance was hotly disputed during
the trial; and the bullet casing that belonged to Hunter Thompson, a known gun-
fetishist who died from a self-inflicted gunshot.
Lastly from Pamuk, "The measure of a museum's success should not be its ability to
represent a state, nation or company, or a particular history. It should be its capacity
to reveal the humanity of individuals."