Diaries of Visual Relationships

Rebecca Sexton Larson is a Tampa, Florida-based studio artist working with alternative photographic processes. Below, she shares some images from her “Visual Diary Series”, as well as an explanation of the alternative processes used to create them.

From the artist:

The on-going series of work, which I’ve continued to explore since 2001, is based on the idea of a “Visual Diary “. The series focuses on my attraction and investigation into personal journaling and storytelling. The work derives from old family photographs, letters and journals (mine or otherwise) that I have collected throughout the years. My aim is to examine and question family structures and relationships … possibly to have a better or clearer understanding of my own past experiences. Obviously, there a difference in how I viewed various events as a child to how I would perceive the same event now as an adult. I can sense this when I look at personal family photographs today — I see and sense things in the photos that I didn’t notice before.  As a result, my work challenges the viewer to contemplate what might be the unseen or unspoken characteristics of the image. For instance, what is going on behind the scenes of the “traditional family dinner” photograph?

As the digital revolution makes capturing family memories more accessible to everyone through the use of camera phones, palm pilots and a vast array of inexpensive point and shoots: I choose to embrace a 19th century technique of image making. The “Visual Diary Series” utilizes large black and white silver prints produced from pinhole cameras. Making images using a traditional camera frustrates me; I tend to focus more on the mechanics of making the photo than the message of the final image. I began making my own pinhole cameras fifteen years ago when it was too costly for me to purchase a large format camera. Quickly, I became enamored with the results I obtained with the use of pinhole photography, for example, the spontaneity and unexpectedness of the process. The elements that makeup my final pieces are photo-based and captured on film by using either a 4×5 Leonardo pinhole camera or a pinhole camera made from a Tide detergent box.

I am a “dark” romantic.

After the silver print is made, I build upon each print by using various art mediums such as painting, drawing, and image transfers. Often, multiple photographs are juxtaposed together to evoke narratives connecting one image to another, not unlike chapters in a book. Frequently, I incorporate hand or machine-sewn verses or writing into select areas of the print to act as dialog. The writings, both from personal journals and verses from popular 20th century poets, push the narrative capabilities of the image. All of my finished pieces are distinctive works on paper that move beyond the boundaries of a traditional photograph and challenge the viewer to discover the story being told.

Lover’s Litany.

Private Collection

I am a “dark” romantic. I have found myself over the years being drawn to images, which will evoke a sense of sentimentality. This particular image was produced as I approached my 20^th wedding anniversary and I reflected on what was important in my life as far as my relationship with my husband. The image that always came to me is that we are “tied” together in our daily journey of ups and downs. I utilized the old wedding photograph as a representation of us. There is a comfort to the image in the way the veil drapes both the figures.

Lost Letters

Collection of Tampa Museum of Art

Work is based on relationships and what we know and don’t know about individuals we are close to. The images on the left of letters posted to a tree, are letters from my high school boyfriend. This work was completed at a time when he wrote to make public to those close to him that he was gay. Something I already knew and held in confidence until he was ready to share.

Contemporary Ex Voto Series “Parting from you now”

Collection of Trenam Kemker Law Firm

Because my work is based in story telling I am drawn to how other cultures relate stories through imagery. Most recently I have been particularly fascinated by Ex-Votos.  Ex-voto is a Spanish word meaning votive offering. An ex-voto is most commonly a personal thank you note to God, and explains why the giver is giving thanks – what God or a particular Saint did for him or her.  In most cases, they reflect a very personal story, curing an illness, surviving an accident, birth of a healthy child. You will usually find these offerings at a church or chapel. They are a very public reflection of thanks.

This work again is referencing commitment and relationships for me. It brings together symbols from my personal life (marriage), professional life (the Polaroid film frame/photography) and spiritual (the writing from Poe reflects my questions on death).

photos courtesy of the artist