Mapping Memory is a call to experiment with making visual representations of events in the past. Memories are complex and fluid. Mapping is a chance to make them material and observe their complexities. Creating a visual document of past events might allow for connections that have not been made before. I know that has been the case for me.
I want to thank everyone who shared their work for this project and I hope you enjoy seeing your work on this venue.
Justin Lodge – mappingmemorycorvallis@gmail.com
a lonely body
needs stitches in the feet
for a quick smoke in
this hellhole;
soles crumbling
like corn flakes w/
forgotten keys to
a trunk full of
makeshift
hope — but
we gotta
make a name,
a brand, a light,
grey scars on
ambiguous skin, so
what’s left of God’ll nod
and promise to make
a note.
-Johnny Beaver
@angelblackart
@robinweis.art
@johnny_beaver … http://revaebynnhoj.com
Starting at ten years old I’ve kept a journal. I was diagnosed with persistent depressive disorder a year ago, however I’ve displayed mental illness since fourteen. I don’t usually read my journals because it is too immersive into such a dark time in my life, but it’s a good reminder that there is life in the future even if it wasn’t there in the past.
Thirty four years ago, and I still remember the moment when my daughter moved inside of me. I was in an art studio with a group of other painters, standing in front of a white piece of paper tacked to the wall.
I am connected to the cosmos, sitting on the earth with my pregnant belly, and in the starry universe at the same time. Years later, I painted myself giving birth, and my daughter giving birth to her daughter. Just last year my grandson was born, and there he is in my arms!
Thirty four years ago, and I still remember the moment when my daughter moved inside of me. I was in an art studio with a group of other painters, standing in front of a white piece of paper tacked to the wall.
I am connected to the cosmos, sitting on the earth with my pregnant belly, and in the starry universe at the same time. Years later, I painted myself giving birth, and my daughter giving birth to her daughter. Just last year my grandson was born, and there he is in my arms!
Thirty four years ago, and I still remember the moment when my daughter moved inside of me. I was in an art studio with a group of other painters, standing in front of a white piece of paper tacked to the wall.
I am connected to the cosmos, sitting on the earth with my pregnant belly, and in the starry universe at the same time. Years later, I painted myself giving birth, and my daughter giving birth to her daughter. Just last year my grandson was born, and there he is in my arms!
Thirty four years ago, and I still remember the moment when my daughter moved inside of me. I was in an art studio with a group of other painters, standing in front of a white piece of paper tacked to the wall.
I am connected to the cosmos, sitting on the earth with my pregnant belly, and in the starry universe at the same time. Years later, I painted myself giving birth, and my daughter giving birth to her daughter. Just last year my grandson was born, and there he is in my arms!
Thirty four years ago, and I still remember the moment when my daughter moved inside of me. I was in an art studio with a group of other painters, standing in front of a white piece of paper tacked to the wall.
I am connected to the cosmos, sitting on the earth with my pregnant belly, and in the starry universe at the same time. Years later, I painted myself giving birth, and my daughter giving birth to her daughter. Just last year my grandson was born, and there he is in my arms!
Thirty four years ago, and I still remember the moment when my daughter moved inside of me. I was in an art studio with a group of other painters, standing in front of a white piece of paper tacked to the wall.
I am connected to the cosmos, sitting on the earth with my pregnant belly, and in the starry universe at the same time. Years later, I painted myself giving birth, and my daughter giving birth to her daughter. Just last year my grandson was born, and there he is in my arms!
Thirty four years ago, and I still remember the moment when my daughter moved inside of me. I was in an art studio with a group of other painters, standing in front of a white piece of paper tacked to the wall.
I am connected to the cosmos, sitting on the earth with my pregnant belly, and in the starry universe at the same time. Years later, I painted myself giving birth, and my daughter giving birth to her daughter. Just last year my grandson was born, and there he is in my arms!
Thirty four years ago, and I still remember the moment when my daughter moved inside of me. I was in an art studio with a group of other painters, standing in front of a white piece of paper tacked to the wall.
I am connected to the cosmos, sitting on the earth with my pregnant belly, and in the starry universe at the same time. Years later, I painted myself giving birth, and my daughter giving birth to her daughter. Just last year my grandson was born, and there he is in my arms!
Thirty four years ago, and I still remember the moment when my daughter moved inside of me. I was in an art studio with a group of other painters, standing in front of a white piece of paper tacked to the wall.
I am connected to the cosmos, sitting on the earth with my pregnant belly, and in the starry universe at the same time. Years later, I painted myself giving birth, and my daughter giving birth to her daughter. Just last year my grandson was born, and there he is in my arms!
“Wild horses” is a painting from memory of a kitchen where I lived in during my time Philadelphia. Combined with imagery and objects, which were significant to me in the past.
“Selbstportrait mit Kater” is the experience of loss and nostalgia depicted with acrylics. It shows objects, which were an emphasized impression throughout life in Germany.
“Home II” Is my childhood home from memory. Different chambers and levels also signify different parts and levels throughout the human body. For example: staircase = spine, etc.
All ball point ink pen drawings are an assembly of impressions, feelings and objects witnessed throughout a day. They are portraits on paper in a “visual form of fluent stream of consciousness”.
http://corafreyer.com/
All ball point ink pen drawings are an assembly of impressions, feelings and objects witnessed throughout a day. They are portraits on paper in a “visual form of fluent stream of consciousness”.
http://corafreyer.com/
All ball point ink pen drawings are an assembly of impressions, feelings and objects witnessed throughout a day. They are portraits on paper in a “visual form of fluent stream of consciousness”.
http://corafreyer.com/
All ball point ink pen drawings are an assembly of impressions, feelings and objects witnessed throughout a day. They are portraits on paper in a “visual form of fluent stream of consciousness”.
http://corafreyer.com/
All ball point ink pen drawings are an assembly of impressions, feelings and objects witnessed throughout a day. They are portraits on paper in a “visual form of fluent stream of consciousness”.
http://corafreyer.com/
I was recently scanning old sketchbooks and came across this drawing I did in 2009 where I included a map of the neighborhood I grew up in. Moving forward to today I created a gif (using procreate) inspired by the original sketch.
https://erinmcreates.com/
Insta @erin_m_creates
This past year I spent many hours walking and running one particular trail in the MacDonald Forest beginning at the Lewisburg Saddle. I recorded 18 runs (with many more walks unrecorded) from October 16 to April 30, logging over 78 miles in rain, snow, fog, and even a little sunshine. Here I found the time I needed for reflection, renewal, and gratitude for the gifts of this forest wonderland.
In recognition and remembrance – included in this painting is a visual recording stitched with golden threads of the steps taken along the forest path with the journal entries made during this time transcribed and collaged beneath. Showcasing a section of elevation map of the Lewisburg Saddle along Nettleton and Davies Roads, the striations of color follow the contours of the map SW to NE. The story of healing flows over time from sun to moon, ground to sky, soothing the chaos I felt within during this time. Fittingly, the elevation of the path naturally has the shape of a heartbeat – one that I found in rhythm with my own, helping me to relish the small pleasures nature can bring with sightings of nuthatches, newts, coral mushrooms, and horsetails, even on the quietest and darkest days. The hours spent on this path will be carried in my heart now and for all my days ahead.
This image is based on memories of visiting the Cleveland Buddhist Temple (Zen Shin Sangha) around 1999. I would wake up at 5 AM and get to the temple by 6 for Thursday morning meditation. It would be dark except for lit statues that populated the stage. Usually, it would just be me and Craig, who taught me how to meditate and is pictured here on the stage.
What I am mapping is the play between mind and breath during meditation. The bright ribbon of diamond shapes represents the continuity of inhales and exhales. The red and orange lines represent my mind or attention darting in and out of communion with the breath. Sometimes it would stay with the breath, but most of the time it would meander.
Family Matters is about memories. All kinds of memories are represented here. Ancestral memory in the use of animals from the family crests for McDermott and O’Connell. Vivid memories of my family reflected in the choice of color throughout. Fleeting memories of those who passed before their time, namely my eldest son represented by the red stag on the lawn and my husband, represented by the blue boar in the foreground. If you look closely, you will see two pink fawns on the porch-my granddaughters. They represent a new generation about to make their own memories.
My Children both know how to read maps. Paper maps. My Son was a First-Class Scout who had to know how to use a map, and my Daughter started driving at 15 in SC, and did not have a smart phone or GPS! Imagine that! They now know how to do amazing things with their smart phones. I know enough to be dangerous. I love maps. My Son Zach collects old tourist maps. My Daughter used maps in her Food and Product Photography. I was given a new Oregon map when I visited Corvallis briefly this summer. I put the map and my purse then forgot about it.
When the call came to participate in this year’s virtual exhibit “ Mapping Memories” I came ready. I had the new Oregon map…now which Memory would I choose? I chose my Alaska trip with my Daughter Audra to celebrate her 30th Birthday. She lived in Chicago. I in Corvallis.
I pledged to only use only my Alaskan souvenirs and found objects in the house. No other items were purchased. The circuit breaker on the top right of the piece begins the journey. All circuits lead to Alaska. Along the way are some treasures of the trip, paintings, and map pieces. In the upper left corner is a switch plate. I decided not to use an actual switch and inserted a map piece instead. All wires were found in the 1960’s mansion where I am House Director at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins.
I have enjoyed this art challenge, and will give the piece to my Daughter. Perhaps another painting will emerge from my next trips…my Son’s 40th Birthday, location TBD or my 70th Birthday trip next month on the Rocky Mountaineer!!
I hope you all enjoy your journeys and their memories! Don’t forget your map, your smart phone may not have a charge!
Painter/Virtual Exhibit Curator
Justin is an artist living in the Willamette Valley. His projects aim to inspire people to explore their inner world through visual art, using artistic practices to make connections that have not been made before.
His project for this year’s Arts Alive, “Mapping Memory,” is a call to make visual representations of events that happened in the past. This project challenges artists to combine multiple images to map complex and fluid memories.