The Story Behind Time Slips Away.
At its most sublime, art can transport us to a time, a place, a feeling, or a memory. It may be the entire image, or the smallest aspect of the image, but we are reminded of some profound connecting thread; it becomes a commentary on our lives, past, present, or imagined.
And this can become even more profound if we know the back-story of an image.
This is one of my favorite images I have ever created. It’s a very simple image really. But it’s my connection to the subject matter and the back-story behind the image that draws me in every time I look at it.
This picture was taken in my parent’s back yard. It was the view from their kitchen sun porch. I looked at those trees thousands of times over the years. Rarely did I ever go down there though. It was a long sloping lawn to a pond with the golf course behind. There was no reason to go down there. But the vista was oh so beautiful.
That morning I took the image the house stood empty. Nothing was left—everything had painstakingly found a new home. It was an eerie feeling to see a house that was once so full of life be completely empty. They were gone and now their house was soon to be gone.
I decided to walk the property—maybe for the first time in my life (they had lived there 22 years and I had lived with them during graduate school for several of those years.) But much of the land was just overgrown that I never bothered to explore. So my dog and I ventured out with my iPhone in hand. It seemed a final tribute to my Dad.
I took hundreds of images that morning, then packed the last of my things in my car and drove off for the last time.
To quote Picasso: “A painting is not thought out and settled in advance. While it is being done, it changes as one’s thoughts change. And when it’s finished, it goes on changing, according to the state of mind of whoever is looking at it.”
Art continues to change in accordance to the viewer who perceives it. I will always see my parents in this image. Other people see all sorts of different things as they contribute their own richly textured interpretations. The one thing I’m sure of is that every time I look at the piece I’m reminded of what I know, or may have momentarily forgotten, about my parent’s lives.
Would love to hear from you about what feelings or emotions you get when you see this image.
Be well….be creative,
thanks
Very touching story that hit home for me as well. The image will always touch your heart. Thank you for sharing. It is beautiful!
Thanks Shelle:) I look at it every day…..
So touching.
This image always reminded me of when I was a kid living in Japan during the Korean War. My dad was career Army and after being in Korea three times he was now assigned to Camp Drake outside Tokyo. Any way we took a bus to school but sometimes would skip out of line after school and cut through a forest to walk to where we lived. As a straight line it was about a mile through the forest. Some dogs would occasionally chase us in the forest and we were often somewhat scared, most of us were in the first and second grade, but it was an adventure for us boys.
This image always reminds me of what I saw before we headed into the trees for another adventure to get to our military housing at the same time the bus arrived. My parents are long passed but I don’t think my mother every knew we cut through the forest and wet area, instead of taking the bus home.
What a lovely memory…..and a testament about how an image can transform us to another place and time. Thanks for sharing.
A lovely remembrance. Thanks for sharing
Beautiful. Thank you for sharing, Clare.