A Visual Memoir
an introduction:
Textures, patterns, and remnants are memories. Photographs and writing serve as inquiries into the past. These mediums bring us back to places which only exist in our mind.
In order to completely grow as an artist and as a person, it was imperative that I search my genetic lineage to better understand where I come from, who I am and what I value. It is through this preservation of memories I have uncovered themes that thread together gaps in my history and the history of my family of origin.
Each letter in each word has been cut and pasted with intention by the artist, using Adobe Photoshop to create layer upon layer, in a ritualistic and meditative fashion, in order to evoke the energy and maintain the feelings that were present during moments in time.
The show is a non-linear representation of my thoughts, ideas, values, and how I came to make art.
Joie Rey (Jana Jana Lynn Cohen) April 2011
an introduction:
Textures, patterns, and remnants are memories. Photographs and writing serve as inquiries into the past. These mediums bring us back to places which only exist in our mind.
In order to completely grow as an artist and as a person, it was imperative that I search my genetic lineage to better understand where I come from, who I am and what I value. It is through this preservation of memories I have uncovered themes that thread together gaps in my history and the history of my family of origin.
Each letter in each word has been cut and pasted with intention by the artist, using Adobe Photoshop to create layer upon layer, in a ritualistic and meditative fashion, in order to evoke the energy and maintain the feelings that were present during moments in time.
The show is a non-linear representation of my thoughts, ideas, values, and how I came to make art.
Joie Rey (Jana Jana Lynn Cohen) April 2011
Who Am I? Where Do I Come From? Where Am I Going?
How can we visually preserve memories, so we don't forget?
In order to completely grow to my full potential as an artist, it is imperative that I ask the following questions of myself: Who am I? What do I value? Where do I come from? Where am I going? How are memories preserved? And finally, why do I choose to hold on to some experiences, names, and dates, and lose track of others? (I call this selective photographic memory) It is through this exploration that I will create an audio/visual memoir of my life to illustrate my memories, thoughts, and experiences as an outcast within my family. This project will be an exploration of the self, and will use self questioning techniques in order to gain a better understanding of who I am as a self identified queer person in a family who at times made it difficult or impossible for me to completely express who I am as a person. This is a search for truth.
There are so many pieces about my family that I only have bits of. A story here and there, that I recall having heard sometime during my childhood is all I have to assist me in recollection of my history. There are many stories that I will attempt to complete. Names of generations past will be sought out on Ancestry.com through public records listed. I will also examine my life, including growing up in Queens and Long Island, as well as the many moves my family made in my lifetime. I will re-explore major events in my life, such as births, deaths, traumatic events, and happy times.
After visiting the GLBT Historical society as a volunteer, transcribing oral histories, I was inspired to create my own archival project.
I have unconsciously, (and at times intentionally) put off creating art about my family and ancestry. This is probably due to the fact that I don't know much about anyone beyond my parents. My maternal lineage consists of a line of women who have lost their memories, due to Alzheimers, and my intention is to preserve my memories and the ability to recall events from my past, to symbolically preserve my brain capability. Being queer has often made me feel as an outcast within my family.
It is also my intention to preserve the stories family members have shared with me. In November when I visited my my parents and my sister in Florida, I hadn't seen them in over a year and my father's health and physical appearance had deteriorated quite a bit. This was a reminder of my own mortality, and my often creatively crippling fear of death and fear of losing my mind (memory). I decided in the moment, to really challenge myself as an artist, and as a human being. I begin copying and pasting old photographs of my family into a journal. This forced me to understand on a deeper level who I am as a person and as an artist. I am finally in a place where I can look at my lineage and accept it for the good and not so pretty; honestly and with compassion and understanding.
A few years ago, I began writing my life story while sitting in a cafe' in San Francisco during a ten month period. When I began touching on subjects that were painful, including my relationship with my mother and grandparents, I stopped. Recently I began reexamining these relationships through collage and writing. I have found that I am at a grounded emotional place where I can look more objectively at my family and see them as the individuals they are. I am learning that the quality of work I produce from the inside out, far surpasses that which begins externally, which at times has been nothing but distracting and at times, superficial.
How can we visually preserve memories, so we don't forget?
In order to completely grow to my full potential as an artist, it is imperative that I ask the following questions of myself: Who am I? What do I value? Where do I come from? Where am I going? How are memories preserved? And finally, why do I choose to hold on to some experiences, names, and dates, and lose track of others? (I call this selective photographic memory) It is through this exploration that I will create an audio/visual memoir of my life to illustrate my memories, thoughts, and experiences as an outcast within my family. This project will be an exploration of the self, and will use self questioning techniques in order to gain a better understanding of who I am as a self identified queer person in a family who at times made it difficult or impossible for me to completely express who I am as a person. This is a search for truth.
There are so many pieces about my family that I only have bits of. A story here and there, that I recall having heard sometime during my childhood is all I have to assist me in recollection of my history. There are many stories that I will attempt to complete. Names of generations past will be sought out on Ancestry.com through public records listed. I will also examine my life, including growing up in Queens and Long Island, as well as the many moves my family made in my lifetime. I will re-explore major events in my life, such as births, deaths, traumatic events, and happy times.
After visiting the GLBT Historical society as a volunteer, transcribing oral histories, I was inspired to create my own archival project.
I have unconsciously, (and at times intentionally) put off creating art about my family and ancestry. This is probably due to the fact that I don't know much about anyone beyond my parents. My maternal lineage consists of a line of women who have lost their memories, due to Alzheimers, and my intention is to preserve my memories and the ability to recall events from my past, to symbolically preserve my brain capability. Being queer has often made me feel as an outcast within my family.
It is also my intention to preserve the stories family members have shared with me. In November when I visited my my parents and my sister in Florida, I hadn't seen them in over a year and my father's health and physical appearance had deteriorated quite a bit. This was a reminder of my own mortality, and my often creatively crippling fear of death and fear of losing my mind (memory). I decided in the moment, to really challenge myself as an artist, and as a human being. I begin copying and pasting old photographs of my family into a journal. This forced me to understand on a deeper level who I am as a person and as an artist. I am finally in a place where I can look at my lineage and accept it for the good and not so pretty; honestly and with compassion and understanding.
A few years ago, I began writing my life story while sitting in a cafe' in San Francisco during a ten month period. When I began touching on subjects that were painful, including my relationship with my mother and grandparents, I stopped. Recently I began reexamining these relationships through collage and writing. I have found that I am at a grounded emotional place where I can look more objectively at my family and see them as the individuals they are. I am learning that the quality of work I produce from the inside out, far surpasses that which begins externally, which at times has been nothing but distracting and at times, superficial.
