Stephen, this reminds me of an historic photograph taken in Harlem many years ago of Jazz musicians. It is quite famous, but alas, my memory is failing me today. It would be interesting to find out who some of the people were, and get a little of their backstory.
What struck me now in our 2009 frame of reference is how white all of those people were- not one person of color in the lot. How would that photo look if taken now I wonder?
Probably not a lot different, sadly. We do have a black President, though. A black first lady. A woman Secretary of State. A little bit better. Not a lot. A little. Ah, this strange life…
Fantastic piece; you’ve really captured a mysterious element of the essence of human existence.
My office is located in an historic building that overlooks an historic cemetery; it’s mind-boggling for me to contemplate all the souls who have passed through this life, a mere spark in geologic time. What is so different in our era though is that we now have lasting records through photographs and all types recordings of the faces, voices, music, movements, ideas, etc of the departed. And each of these freeze frame moments captures a instant in the whole saga of a life, a life which to the liver is all there is.
I agree and yet have you ever been to a flea market where there are boxes of old photos? Thousands of them. And even the photo that I was playing with at the Biltmore. Most of those faces (though they exist) have now disconnected themselves from us, except for their surface. How different is this from having disappeared altogether?
And then I think about the buildings with names of “famous” people. Heroes. Leaders. Whatever. Names, that after their loved ones have died along with them, what do they really mean?
Ultimately I suspect that where life still resides is in the present. The living, breathing, feeling of it.
And maybe that’s the real value of all this stuff that captures the now dead. To live…
Great blog. That photo of the LA dead is pretty amazing. Why? Because it’s obvious. Of course, they are all dead. And, of course, we babyboomers will all be just as dead soon enough. And then our kids, etc.
And we will never have a fucking clue what it all meant.
All art, I guess, is designed to help us take some meaning out of this fact. But it is so unfair that no matter who we are or what we have, we’ll never what it was all about.
All we have is now and the only meaning we can achieve is to make the lives of others better.
So we try.
That may be why we are liberals. What would the meaning of our lives be if all we cared about was the crystal and jewels we see in the photo.
On the other hand, unlike the people, they exist…somewhere!
Very beautiful/interesting photo! And a nice place to be. But nothing is what it seems most times… especially in Hollywood.
Stephen, this reminds me of an historic photograph taken in Harlem many years ago of Jazz musicians. It is quite famous, but alas, my memory is failing me today. It would be interesting to find out who some of the people were, and get a little of their backstory.
What struck me now in our 2009 frame of reference is how white all of those people were- not one person of color in the lot. How would that photo look if taken now I wonder?
Probably not a lot different, sadly. We do have a black President, though. A black first lady. A woman Secretary of State. A little bit better. Not a lot. A little. Ah, this strange life…
Fantastic piece; you’ve really captured a mysterious element of the essence of human existence.
My office is located in an historic building that overlooks an historic cemetery; it’s mind-boggling for me to contemplate all the souls who have passed through this life, a mere spark in geologic time. What is so different in our era though is that we now have lasting records through photographs and all types recordings of the faces, voices, music, movements, ideas, etc of the departed. And each of these freeze frame moments captures a instant in the whole saga of a life, a life which to the liver is all there is.
I agree and yet have you ever been to a flea market where there are boxes of old photos? Thousands of them. And even the photo that I was playing with at the Biltmore. Most of those faces (though they exist) have now disconnected themselves from us, except for their surface. How different is this from having disappeared altogether?
And then I think about the buildings with names of “famous” people. Heroes. Leaders. Whatever. Names, that after their loved ones have died along with them, what do they really mean?
Ultimately I suspect that where life still resides is in the present. The living, breathing, feeling of it.
And maybe that’s the real value of all this stuff that captures the now dead. To live…
Great blog. That photo of the LA dead is pretty amazing. Why? Because it’s obvious. Of course, they are all dead. And, of course, we babyboomers will all be just as dead soon enough. And then our kids, etc.
And we will never have a fucking clue what it all meant.
All art, I guess, is designed to help us take some meaning out of this fact. But it is so unfair that no matter who we are or what we have, we’ll never what it was all about.
All we have is now and the only meaning we can achieve is to make the lives of others better.
So we try.
That may be why we are liberals. What would the meaning of our lives be if all we cared about was the crystal and jewels we see in the photo.
On the other hand, unlike the people, they exist…somewhere!