Afterward

Something that I have been constantly thinking about, especially during quarantine, has been history, and its place in the present. When I started thinking about what I wanted to do for this photo book, something that came to mind were family photos and their place in history. In March, for one of my classes, I started to look through my own family photo archives; I fell in love with what I found, and the feelings that the images evoked.

Growing up I have always been surrounded by family. When I was younger, I found it suffocating that whatever I was doing, everyone was always involved, from birthdays and bat mitzvahs to trips and just a regular old Tuesday night. Like most people, as I’ve gotten older and I spend less and less time surrounded by them, I have grown to miss those days and I appreciate those times now. I have become fascinated by this concept of big loving family. No matter where you are in your life or what is going on in the world, they are there to love and support you unconditionally.

During this pandemic, I found myself longing for an escape from the grim and dull reality that had become daily life. I started to spend hours on the phone and socially distanced with my grandparents, listening to stories about their younger lives, stories of travel and trade, what was going on in the world and most importantly, family. These conversations stemmed a deep delve into every photo box and album they had, asking stories of each image, the people in them, and what life was like then. Sitting in their backyard, the same one where many of these photographs were captured, as well as hearing them reminisce on these times, allowed me to feel like I had these experiences with them. Going through this process brought a smile to their faces that I hadn’t seen since March when everything in the world changed.

This photobook is an excerpt of 35 images from the 60’s and 70’s that portrayed this sense of a free and loving environment. It includes images from when they were in the early stages of their courtship, through my mother and aunt’s early childhood, and paired with letters and clippings my grandfather had received from my grandmother and his clients during that time. While there was so much going on in the world then, just like there is now, they still found a way to stay positively joyous and caring of each other. Before retirement, my grandfather was a salesman, and he spent the majority of his life working tirelessly to support his friends and family while giving his children opportunities and make sure everyone around him lived a happy life. These images capture the sentiment of their lives at such an impressionable time in their relationship.

There is value in nostalgia and understanding interpersonal connection. The process of compiling this book was the beginning of an ongoing exploration into an understanding of my own background; where were my roots, and what were the lives of my relatives before I came to be. This process brought me closer to my grandparents then I’ve ever been. My grandparents have shown me to value family, but more importantly, they have shown me the power of love and what it means to truly love unconditionally.