Gazing into the Viewfinder

Last Friday, I accepted an invitation to attend a lecture/open mic/live guitar/spoken word performance presented by an artist who made the occasion more interactive and allowed for audience participation and the creation of new forms of expression.

The speaker instructed everyone to bring a piece of paper (or a toilet paper roll), a piece of string, and a pen in order to focus in on one important document or artifact in front of us. The original activity was to go outside in nature for one hour to sit and resonate with anything inspirational.

I took my rolled up piece of paper and honed in on a photograph of my much loved pet rabbit from many moons ago. It created a different type of depth, as if I were taking the picture twenty years ago when she was still alive.

At the end of the activity, attendees were motivated to share their creations with the whole room and encouraged to show what they came up with during the last half hour of the video call. It was very interesting to see which objects the other people in the room selected. I was very moved when I saw another person use a handwritten letter from a beloved parent expressing their love and admiration.


This activity can be easily re-created at home.

Materials:
-Piece of Paper
-Piece of String
-Pen

Time: Approximately One Hour

Directions: Find an item, an artifact that holds much personal significance. Roll up a piece of paper into a tube and stare at the found object for a bit. Place the lens of a camera inside the rolled up tube and take a photograph of whatever is seen from the other end.

The project is an exercise in nostalgia and renewing perspective.



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