For Memory's Sake

Angela Singer is not an artist by intention however her images are touching and at times provocative and innocent. Singer documents her surroundings on a daily basis, sometimes compulsively as if she cannot restrain herself. Religiously she snaps dozens of images daily. From mundane to bizarre, Singer has collected thousands of images over her lifetime. Initially I thought this obsession to be a mental disorder of sorts. However a passage in the film by her daughter speaks about Singers repressed life as a Southern woman, mother to nine, married to an alcoholic. This short description gives deep insight into many limitations placed on Singer. Her daughter described her interpretation to be a way of coping with her life and dealing with reality, a way to find deeper meaning in the everyday. I found this explanation seams the most logical- there are so many beautiful things around us, yet we fill our lives with daily commitments and face challenges so great we find ourselves unable to take time to connect to these beautiful things around us. Images help us preserve these life affirming moments. We can go back, years later and still have emotional connections to memories long since forgotten. This is the very reason I love photography. The reason I shoot. To remember. To preserve. As artist I am training myself to create images worth remembering, images that evoke specific memories or feelings in a way that my community can relate to, versus Singers style of happenstance and serendipity.

I think Singers work is important because it is real. Real in the sense that it has no other motives except pure preservation of time and memory. It's an honest and clean look into the private lives of her family, home and interests. It is very different from common day self documentation with the intent to broadcast (publication or social media like facebook etc). Singers work was made for private consumption and does not ask to be understood or forgiven- she makes no excuses for eccentricities or technical flaws. Her images help to redefine the importance of the snapshot and its potential.