The monotypes in the series, Flashbulb Memories, explore the relationship between personal and cultural versions of history. The prints represent the fluid impression of memory images that I associate with major historical events of my lifetime. These kinds of memories are also known as flashbulb memories, “memories of the circumstances in which one first learned of a very surprising and consequential event” (Brown and Kulik, 1977).
I began each image by recalling a significant event in American history such as the shootings at Kent State in 1970 or the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, and then conflating those cultural memories with associated personal ones. Our memories of historical events are often constructed from a combination of news images and personal recollections, and are then woven into idiosyncratic, animated holograms that shape our understanding of the world and ourselves.
Flashbulb Memory 1967, Detroit Riots
Flashbulb Memory 1969, First on the Moon
Flashbulb Memory 1980, Mt. St Helens
Flashbulb Memory 1977, Elvis Presley
Flashbulb Memory 1989, Loma Prieta
Flashbulb Memory 1973, Roe vs Wade
Flashbulb Memory 1972, Munich Olympics
Flashbulb Memory 1975 Fall of Saigon
Flashbulb Memory 196, MLK-RFK
Flashbulb Memory 2001, Sept 11
Flashbulb Memory 1995, Oklahoma City Bombing
Flashbulb Memory 1992 L.A. Riots
Flashbulb Memory 1970: Kent State
Flashbulb Memory 1972 Hanoi Jane
Flashbulb Memory 1974 Vietnam
Flashbulb Memory 1974 Watergate
Flashbulb Memory 1976 Idi Amin
Flashbulb Memory 1979 Three Mile Island
Flashbulb Memory 1980 John Lennon
Flashbulb Memory 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger
Flashbulb Memory 1989 Exxon Valdez
Flashbulb Memory 1995 OJ Simpson
Flashbulb Memory 1997 Princess Diana
