Paula's Media Pet

The analogue family photo album

Personal note

The family photo albums of my family are something I vividly remember. We have a couple of them ranging from my great-grandparents to me in childhood days. The old ones were heavy red and black thick and big leather hardcover books with stiff black pages with the smell of old books. Inside were black and white photos with white deckle edges, showing major life events from each phase of life: baby years, first day at school, holidays, birthdays, weekend trips and family members in all different combinations. Most of the albums were made by my grandmother and mother. Their handwritten notes accompanied the images - white handwriting on black pages. Between the single thick black pages were sheets of transparent waxed paper with an imprinted pattern that reminded of a spider web. How funny that actually is. As if the dust of time had already settled on those old-fashioned albums while there were still in use. My parents are separated now, not talking to each other and I don't have any brothers or sisters. There is really nobody that I can remember my own history with, in a good hearted spirit. Looking at those albums somehow gives me a sense of history and maybe even a sense of stability.

Specificity

The photo album I'm talking about here, is the old-fashioned one that was self-made by a family member. The images inside were chosen by that specific person, put into an order and glued into the album. Then hand-written information is added about the image such as date, name and place of the image. What draws me to these old fashioned albums is the fact that I know how rare pictures were in the days that these albums were created. People died young more often due to wars or illnesses and sometimes these photographs were the only leftovers of these family members. The sentimental value of these images was extremely high and I can literally see someone sitting there and putting those memories together. You can see the work that's been put into it. This touches me. I also very much like the haptic element of the album itself: it's individual size, material, weight, thickness and even smell.

While on the one hand the family photo album is very personal, it is also very universal on the other hand because the events depicted are very similar in all families albums. The strong sentimental value it has accounts for the family members themselves only. For other people it can be completely uninteresting. I like the idea that a family album is actually completely useless. It's only function is a sentimental one: to preserve memory and document the existence of a family.

Within the photo album itself you can trace the development of the medium of photography. While some of them start out with images from the early days of photography maybe even with a Carte de Visite later in the album you might find polaroids, color photography and maybe even images made by mobile phones. Depending on the timespan of the album, it also tells a history of photography. Also the disappearing of the analogue family photo album is part of the process of the changing of the medium to a digital era.

I guess what interests me is the very specific emotional value and it's universality at the same time with it's repeating patterns of life events. I like the idea that we all live very specific lives with it's very individual struggles and joys but there it is basically all about more or less the same for everyone: A sense of belonging: finding a place within a family or community; a sense of love: being important and making a difference in the life of someone else; a sense of connection: being in exchange with other people important to us; being at peace with ourselves and making the best out of what's available to us. Doing the best you can with the tools you have. I spend a lot of time thinking about how important it was for me in my teenage years to separate myself from all the others. To make all effort to be different and feel individual. Now I feel that it's really easy to distance yourself from other people while the real challenge is actually to find and concentrate on the things that unite us. I can see this co-existence of individuality and commonality in the family albums that are all specific and universal at the same time.

The audio book

Specificity

Listening to an audio book is a very particular form of focusing. It differs fundamentally from reading. Listening to an audio book is a way to take in information independent from whatever else you are doing. You can listen to it while doing something else like running, traveling or doing housework. It makes it possible to make use of time that otherwise you wouldn't use for anything else. You can still follow a story even if your eyes are too tired to read or it's simply not possible. Also I remember things that I've listened to easier than things that I've read. Besides that I enjoy the lack of visuals. Often I find it more stimulating to listen to a story than to watch a movie. Listening with earphones creates an immersive space with an intimate atmosphere that pierces through whatever it is that you are doing. Of course the activity that you are doing can't be an activity involving thought. It must be something that's done automatically. Listening to audio books has enriched my life to a great extent in the sense that now even the dullest but necessary activities such as housework are fun to do and I don't feel like traveling time is wasted time. It does take you out of your surroundings though. You are not really aware of what's going on around you which can be both, good and bad.