35mm Hannah Shepard

This series of works by Hannah Shepard uses photographs to explore nostalgia, identity, and history. Hannah’s 35mm was done by recollecting photographs taken by unknown people, but that ranged from her grandmother’s birth to her own birth. These images are displayed using a 35mm slide format which helps create the sense of memory and accumulation of images throughout time. In addition, the photographs have been distorted using Photoshop filters and transparencies, and they all have been grouped in chronological order of the date when the photograph was taken. Hannah also chose to use a backlit method to recreate warmth of color that she associates with old photographs.
Even though the viewer knows that these images have been taken from personal life experiences of the artist’s family, because of the way that they are displayed the viewer can associate these life experiences to their own. This is due to the transparencies and filters that Hannah uses to distort her images. Two layers of transparencies were used, as well as filters such as ‘’Dust and Scratches’’ which distorted the image. These filters make the photographs look less detailed, especially in the faces of the people, which help the viewer identify with any of these images. This is a strong point since the viewer can relate with this work of art since anyone can find photographs of their own family that look very similar to the ones Hannah used (birth of someone, little children playing, family laying on the grass, etc.). In addition, images are set up forming a 3Dimensional shape, using tape or other clear material to cover the sides and the light is placed inside this shape, which illuminates the whole structure. This makes the structure even more interesting since you can see it from different points of view.
The 35mm method used by the artist to display the photographs helps create the sense of memory and nostalgia to the viewer, which is enhanced by the light coming through the photographs. The display recreates the feeling of looking at an old family album, which uses the 35mm slides, in which you have to look very closely at the photograph to see the content. This gives the viewer more interaction with the work of art since the viewer gets two different experiences from when being close to the photographs and when being far away from them. As a whole, the viewer can understand that this work of art relates to family (or people that might not be related but that still have some kind of connection), and although the viewer might not know who the people in the photographs are, it is easy to recognize that they are old photographs. This experience is different than when the viewer comes close and tries to understand one photograph at a time. This experience comes again to the idea of relating yourself and your own personal experiences and family experiences with the photographs being presented. The viewer cannot recognize anyone from those photographs (not only because the viewer does not know them, but also because the images have been distorted). This creates a better connection between the viewer and the work of art since the viewer might recognize the places or the activities being done, but not the people, making it in some way personal to the viewer as well. In this way, it can be said that the photographs can represent the memories or history of anyone who feels a connection with the photographs.