the evocative
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e·voc·a·tive
/əˈväkədiv/
adjective
bringing strong images, memories, or feelings to mind.
"powerfully evocative lyrics" (Lexico)
"We find it familiar to consider objects as useful or aesthetic, as necessities or vain indulgences. We are on less familar ground when we consider objects as companions to our emotional lives or as provocations to thought" (Turkle, 2007, p. 5).
"We find it familiar to consider objects as useful or aesthetic, as necessities or vain indulgences. We are on less familar ground when we consider objects as companions to our emotional lives or as provocations to thought" (Turkle, 2007, p. 5).
open collection: the Polaroid
Like all photographs, the Polaroid captures an exact instant in time, but what’s interesting about the Polaroid, is that the object itself also came into existence at that very instant. Looking at the photo, you can can imagine the photographer pulling it out of the instant camera, looking at a milky grey square, perhaps shaking the photo (you know you aren’t supposed to!), turning it upside down, waiting. Together both the photographer and subject look at the object as it is slowly revealed.
Have you taken a Polaroid picture? Click the link below to share your own instant photos.
Can you think of other objects that hold within them a depth of emotion from the past, and the tactile memory of movement and action?
Do you collect anything that shares the magic of a Polaroid picture?
Collaborate with us by sharing your evocative experiences with the collective on our Padlet, click the link below:
Do you have any evocative collections you wish to share with the community? Do you have any questions for us? Let us know! Click the link below to send us a message.
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personal collection: quarantine cakes
collector: N. C.
Photos, whether in print, or sent over digitally, are a gesture of appreciation and loving thoughtfulness that transcends time and space. These cakes are baked with the tender, loving touch of a little sister across the world. As she learned how to bake decadent desserts and pastries during the COVID-19 quarantine period, she shared proud snapshots of each creation to her older sister living in another country. The endearing flaws of each cake show the working hands and determination of a young, novice baker, experimenting with a new means of showing love.
What items of adoration or mementos of love have you created or collected during quarantine that connected you with your family and friends?
How have you documented and shared your tokens of endearment to your loved ones?
Share your experiences with the collective on our Padlet, click the link below:
Alternatively, if you wish to share your thoughts and reflections, click on the link below to access the discussion board.
“In a meadow full of flowers, you cannot walk through and breathe those smells and see all those colors and remain angry. We have to support the beauty, the poetry, of life” (Mekas, n.d.).
film collection
The films below are philosophical meditations sparked from a collection of intimate, emotional moments from the directors' personal lives. Watch how each film documents the mundane and ordinary memories as ones sparkling with beauty, delight, and meaning. Watch how the directors portray raw, natural, genuine life on camera and the musings that come from their stream of consciousness as they live from moment to moment.
Take out your camera or phone and record the beauty that you see around you as it becomes a distant memory. Record anything that sparks your interest, speaks to you, or evokes a strong emotion. Try one-take shots.
Do you have any video snippets of a beautiful memory or a brief moment in life? Is it celebratory or a milestone? Think of this as a moving portrait of yourself, a snapshot back in time.
Write or record a voiceover of your thoughts and feelings as you narrate your sentimental memories.
Add your snapshots, voice narratives, and snippets to our Padlet, click the link below:
As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)
Directed by Jonas Mekas
Watch a clip here
(Mekas, 2000)
literature collection
Excerpt from A to X: A Story in Letters
by John Berger
“On my windowsill when I got home, there was a tumbler with pink jelly in it, and embedded in the jelly, sliced strawberries and bananas… [my neighbour] cooks at odd hours. She must have made the strawberry jelly this morning. When I buy baklava, which is not often because I eat too many, I leave a few for her on her windowsill, with a headscarf over them so the wasps don’t come. For these little gifts we don’t thank each other with words. They are commas of care.”
(Berger, 2008, n.p.).
by Lisel Mueller
What happened is, we grew lonely
living among the things,
so we gave the clock a face,
the chair a back,
the table four stout legs
which will never suffer fatigue.
We fitted our shoes with tongues
as smooth as our own
and hung tongues inside bells
so we could listen
to their emotional language,
and because we loved graceful profiles
the pitcher received a lip,
the bottle a long, slender neck.
Even what was beyond us
was recast in our image;
we gave the country a heart,
the storm an eye,
the cave a mouth
so we could pass into safety.
(Mueller, 1996, para. 1).
Can you think of any "commas of care", simple delights, and little pleasures in life that are dear to you?
When were these gifts or surprises given and where are they placed now?
Write a descriptive blurb on what the object means to you and your feelings associated with it..
Click on the link below to share your thoughts and reflections.
Do objects have souls and an "emotional language"? Have you ever found yourself projecting your identity or your feelings onto an object?
What objects represent you? How have you lived your life through these?
Write an object poem from the perspective of you or the object. Be mindful of the emotions that you come across.
Share your thoughts, musings, videos, and photos with the community by contributing to an existing collection, adding to the Padlet, or participating on the discussion board. If you have an idea for a new collection, or any other questions or comments, just ask!
Do you have any new collections you wish to share with the collective? Do you have any questions for us? Let us know! Click the link above to send us a message.
Follow the link above to the discussion board to begin a discussion on any topic or collection on
his page.
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