A picture is worth a thousand memories....

Last night I received an e-mail from Adrienne. She sent out a video to a group of friends and family members of her new condo. She did a walk through showing everyone her new place now that it has been repainted and decorated. I must admit she did a great job with the walk through, giving a great virtual tour of her new digs (she's got a steady hand for sure. The video wasn't jumpy at all).

It was interesting to see the place with all of her belongings. I recognized a piece of furniture here and there but what struck me most were paintings on the walla. Three of them brought back strong memories for I had brought them into our home. It was an interesting tie back to the past and as I looked at the items I realized they really were a representation of me or at least represented a lot to me.

The first was a painting of a terrace in what would look like Greece or a tropical local. The point of view for the picture is through the archway of a red door that is opening onto the terrace with a view of the ocean in the distance. I remember liking something about the photo but at the time I didn't realize that I had a thing for archways and doorways. As I think of subsequent photos I took (specifically in Mexico and Italy) I realize that I have a fascination with those types of views and structures. There is something fascinating both artistically and philosophically ~ what do open doors and windows represent? I guess depending on who is looking at it or when I am looking at it, the view can be seen as a door closing vs. opening.

The second picture was of a large poster/photo in a black frame of a deserted tropical isle with a big palm tree in the forefront. The water is crystal blue and the sand looks like powdered sugar. I remember that scene as being extremely tranquil and I had it hanging in the bedroom (it's in her bedroom in the new place as well).

The third wall covering is a huge photo of NY City at night. It's really cool. It covers three quarters of a wall, that's how big it is. If you look up close there are some florescent paints over windows and such. The photo used to hang in a local bar in NY. It had a black light over it and when lit the photo looked like the skyline at night. It was way cool in a totally 80s kind of way. It still looks cool without the black light effect.

I had loved the picture and when my brother in law was courting my sister he saved it from the bar that they were tearing down and gave it to her to give to me. He scored major points with both of us for that. I had completely forgotten about that picture and was definitely flooded with memories when I saw it on the video.

It makes me wonder how many memories Adrienne has attached to these pictures. I'm sure they had a bigger effect on me because I am seeing them for the first time in forever, but does she also hold on to these pictures for more reasons than just meet the eye?

It's fascinating to me how ordinary objects and pictures can carry so many memories, feelings, and stories with them and how we surround ourselves with the history that these items keep stored for us.