"There is chronological time and there is psychological time. Thought takes place in psychological time. Since thought builds on memory, and memory is accumulated past experience, time is the movement of the past into the present and the future. Therefore, thought is the linear movement of time, because of the sequential change of events. Psychological time is the movement of thought. If one enters the inner space beyond thought, one goes beyond psychological time."
M.A.Sc., Lad, Vassant, D. "Textbook of Ayurveda: Fundamental Principles of Ayurveda." The Ayurvedic Press. Albuquerque, New Mexico.
While working with family memories and the past, I have started to think about how these pictures and moving images are viewed in the present. At the time of filming, these memories were the present moment. The only people involved were those in the films and the person behind the camera. As time moved on, there were more viewers with different thoughts, experiences, and perceptions.
Now 70 years later, these memories from the past are being brought to the present. Not only are these pictures being shown in a very different time from when they were captured, but also to a wider variety of people. How a person in 2009 responds to these images may be different from a person viewing them in the 40's, 50's, or 60's. It is also interesting to see how a non-relative responds to these very intimate and familial images.
Another thing that struck me while reading this quote was how the past does move into the present and the future. I am taking images from the past and viewing and using them for my own purpose in the present. What I am doing now will bring the past not only into the present, but also the future.
Another part of the quote that stood out to me, regarding my project was that "thought builds on memory, and memory is accumulated past experience."
My thoughts, perceptions, feelings, and emotions are all affected by memory. My memory is based in passed experiences. Therefore, while I am working with these images of my Grandmother, my perception of them is much different from that of anyone else. I know a deeper and more personal past history of my Grandmother than what people can pick up on from moving images and photographs. What I see in the pictures of her first date or her marriage cannot be seen by most, because of the passing of time both chronologically, and psychologically.
These images are weaving together the past, present, and future. This is one of my goals.
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