Exhibition Statement

INTRODUCTION

Memories, shared or personal, create an opportunity for reflection on the past.  Nostalgia is a tool that unites individuals through comparable experiences.  Retrospection explores memories and nostalgia through visual art practices such as photography and collaging.  Positive and significant childhood memories are the focus of the project.  Each memory theme is reflected in its own ‘memory book’ that reflects elements of the memory through art.  The books inhabit a bookcase materialized by a worn-in, used feeling.  This project explores how reflective nostalgia is created through visual representations of common and relevant memories.

LITERATURE REVIEW

The central message conveyed in this project revolves around nostalgia.  Through my research, I determined the difference between reflective and restorative nostalgia.   Gizela Horvath in “Faces of Nostalgia: Restorative and Reflective Nostalgia in the Fine Arts” identifies that reflective nostalgia “recalls the past” and “is aware of the irreversibility of time” (Horvath 151).  Furthermore, Horvath concludes that the “individual resonances of the past” is the subject matter rather than glorifying the past (Horvath 151).  Reflective nostalgia acknowledges that the past is in the past and emphasizes the appreciation for the emotions brought forth by the memory according to “Artists Are Tapping into Nostalgia Because it Works” by Lyle Burns.  Supplemental research that supports the visual elements of this project ranges from bookbinding techniques, art layering approaches, and woodworking methods.  This project draws from the work of Rongwei Zhang who incorporates elements of nostalgia through layering practices of photographs and paint.  Specifically, Zhang applies gesso on his photographs and utilizes a scraping method to reveal certain aspects of the photograph.  This technique is implemented in this project to create layers over the memories reflected in each photograph.  The memory books are distinct because they use a personal memory or photograph as a starting point for each book.  The personal quality of the memories separates this project from others while simultaneously inviting an audience to reflect.  Lastly, the interactive aspect is innovative as a handful of visual art pieces are meant to be looked at only.

METHODS

The main research methods utilized to conduct background research were literature reviews and examining artwork from other artists.  Preceding artwork specified how other artists evoke the nostalgia of childhood in visual art.  This provoked experimentation with similar techniques relevant to the project.  Specifically, artists utilized elements of texture, color, and material to depict memories.  The research conducted for this project lead to a variety of techniques such as bookbinding and material layering.  The layering of gesso on photographs was a new concept used most frequently in the project.  Wood staining and the techniques that support it were other medium experiments.

AUDIENCE AND IMPACT

The broad audience for this project is anyone seeking to reflect on their childhood memories through art.  There is a collective element of the project that brings an audience together to think more personally.  However, to refine the audience, young adults are especially encouraged to interact with the project.  The memories that were chosen are those that a young adult audience can connect with through similar or shared experiences.  This project has impacted the way nostalgia and memories are reflected in arts.  Additionally, through new mediums and techniques, this project provided opportunities for experimentation.  The relevance of nostalgia, as a broad topic, in this project has offered a further exploration of recollection and remembrance.

REFERENCES

Horvath, Gizela. “Faces of Nostalgia. Restorative and Reflective Nostalgia in the Fine Arts.” Gdańsk Humanistic Journal, no. 9, 2018, pp. 145-156. https://doi.org/10.26881/jk.2018.9.13.

Zhang, Rongwei. Painting Nostalgia: A Rhizomatic Exploration of Memory and Affect. 2020. School of Fine Art Glasgow School of Art.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Harold Burgess, Heather Bremenstuhl, and my Arts Scholars peers, friends, and family for assistance in brainstorming overarching themes, methods, techniques, and discussions on shared and relevant memories.