lifecycles objects

2013—2019

As an extension of the lifecycles project, lifecycles objects focused more specifically on objects created and collected since the 1920s. My photographs of these objects suggest narratives and personal histories that are informed by my curiosity about and connections to these individuals. I am interested in how the materiality and presence of the objects becomes personified. I speculate about the kind of decisions that entered the creative process of making the objects. I look for qualities in the objects that show evidence of use and reference a lived experience. As a whole, the artifacts in these photographs suggest personal histories and narratives that are simultaneously concrete and elusive.

These utilitarian objects, garments and materials, were made and used by women in my family. Despite the fact that these women worked outside the home, the domestic environment was a place in which they had more control. It provided an acceptable realm for women to explore creative ideas. They could make functional objects, sometimes out of necessity, while utilizing artistic concepts. This collection of items reflects the work of women who were inventive and serious makers who cared deeply about the quality of their craft.

I connected strongly with these women, especially my grandmother, and their creative process. Anna’s productivity did not arise exclusively out of necessity; she had a creative need to make these things. At the age of twenty she made her own wedding dress, veil, bouquet, ring pillow, and shoe buckles using remarkable flair, detail, and imagination. She taught herself how to paint with oils, replaced wire lampshade covers, and designed hats for Ranel, the millinery store she owned. According to one annecdote, the only thing Anna did not make was her husband’s clothes.