"The Postcard. A simple and sturdy piece of cardstock paper that is printed with an image of a destination that a loved one has never been before. It is a handsome photographic recreation of a location that has significance to whomever is purchasing the card and will soon have significance to the special someone who receives it. It would not be difficult to recreate a similar scene by using an iPhone and yet, the average person is still compelled to buy the souvenir. In our modern age, what allure does the printed image have?

 

The generation of kids born in the 90's, like me, grew up at the turn of a new century and were swept up in the rush of evolving technology. The standard VHS tape was replaced with the DVD and then our neighborhood Blockbuster closed with the creation of Netflix and On Demand. Cassettes and CD's became obsolete with the MP3 and then, the iPod. I won't even get started with the evolution of the cell phone. The tangible object was replaced with an abstract concept, a visual reality that is no longer weighed down by any physical or visceral element. American society has endured both the negative and positive effects that have stemmed from such an accelerated and severe transition into a technologically advanced age, the results of which can be speculated upon and debated for hours. Instead of attending to the events and outcomes that appear in relation to the introduction of these new technologies, my interest lies in the moment when the physical object was removed - on the moment of loss. It is my belief that this abrupt replacement of the palpable and concrete commodity for an omnipresent, conceptual item has had its own affect on the generation of kids who experienced this extreme and accelerated societal transition during the onset of puberty. Surprisingly, this has now been made apparent in the form of a trend amongst this same generation: Vinyl collecting; the return of the Polaroid camera; and the preference of shooting film rather than digital photography. Items and practices that were phased out in the transition from childhood to adulthood have been made popular again by capitalizing on nostalgia. The concept of the post card, works relatively the same way; the images themselves are intended to induce feelings of nostalgia. Their single shot quality makes them more unique than a slew of pictures brought home from trips abroad – but why?

 

This project, Postcards of Paris, aimed to further investigate the notions of nostalgia and legitimacy that are associated with post cards and film photography. The body of work produced is a compilation of collected post cards, 35mm film, and iPhone photos to document my five-week stay in Paris, France. My goal is to evoke feelings of nostalgia for both people and places that are foreign to the viewer by juxtaposing these three kinds of photo documentation together. Furthermore, by putting these images online, a space is created that exists within the virtual realm, while also having firm roots in the physical, visceral world."