'nostalgia' by Hollis Frampton (1971)

The video watched can only be described as boring and sad. Although this may be a harsh statement it does not go without reason. I will admit the photographs exhibited were interesting in their composition and interesting visually, however the descriptions did little to add to that. I feel the photographs should be enjoyed for face value. The narrative is spoken in a monotone voice and is quite distant to me. I cannot connect to his story, they are his memories and not mine, therefore it feels like i’m peering into his life, but i’d rather only enjoy his work. I may be a little critical in not caring about his narrative as i’m sure it can be interesting and could add further value to the image, but his slow monotone voice coupled with the long gaps of blank video and the fact the narrative did not match up with the images, left me fast forwarding to each image, trying to connect his stories to his representations, and in turn losing all connection with the video and its stories. Aside from boredom and annoyance, i also felt sadness. The images he was destroying left me feeling bitter, as i saw this as a great discomfort getting rid of those memories and exceptional photographs. It raises the big question, why? Did the photos bring back unwanted memories, or was it simply a form of art? At best i can only guess, but i hope for his sake it is not the second option as the message flew right over my head, leaving him (using me as an example of the audience) with burnt images for no good reason.