Back to the Future Part II

A while back I posted some beautiful photos from Irina Werning.  Her series "Back to the Future" is brilliant and I love her attention to detail when replicating photographs from the past.  It looks like she was in LA for some of them, and I wish I would have known sooner because I would have LOVED to be one of her subjects.  About 8 years ago or so, back at CalArts, I had this project in my head about childhood that never got made.  My mother was rummaging through the garage and found some vintage super 8 footage of me and my family in the early 1980s.  It showed images of "Baby Ava" playing dress up (not too different from today), my 1st birthday is on film with brief images of my grandpa who passed on before I ever got to know him...

Footage of seeing my uncle in his late 20s holding me was really surreal, like from another realm, and just seeing myself as a child brought forth so much raw emotion.  I wept, and thought, "I have to use this somehow".  Something compelled me to use this footage, maybe to possibly relive my childhood in a way, but to come up with an execution was impossible at the time.  The ideas were too vague back then.  I know I wanted to evoke a certain feeling I got from watching the footage for the first time.  I had some present footage of me, at the time, trying to act like a little girl while driving around my neighborhood.  Reenacting the actual events, with pain staking detail, never occurred to me.  I love how Werning's project takes these past photographs and recreates them, forcing the subject to re-live their childhood for just a moment.  I would be curious to read about what kinds of feelings these images evoked for the subjects captured.  Her photographs give me inspiration to finish what I started and just getting ideas out there is the first step. 

Here are some more of my favorites.  To see more, click here.

Andy 1964 & 2011 Los Angeles

Alexandra 1970 & 2011 Paris

Christoph 1990 & 2011 Berlin Wall

Jackie 1990 & 2011 Buenos Aires

Maartje 1990 & 2011 Amsterdam

Marcela 1970 & 2011 Buenos Aires

Puna 2003 & 2011 Buenos Aires

Maria Jose 1983 & 2011 Buenos Aires

Sonia y Laurita 1998 & 2011 Buenos 

The Zurbanos 1999 & 2011 Buenos Air

All images copyright Irina Werning, 2011.

your friend,

ava

A Little Something..

Front

Last Sunday, my Dad gave me a ride to work.  On the way there he gave me this gift made especially for me by my 7 year old cousin.  I've been sick this past week, so this was especially comforting.  It reminded me of when my brother, now 20, would slip me drawings underneath my door.  My mom found a few of those while cleaning up, and seeing them again,  I remember having this strong feeling of loss.  That bittersweet feeling telling me that we were once really young, and I wish I would have taken the time to appreciate what was given to me so long ago.  Now it's all just vague memories.  

Her gift came packaged in this bright neon pink envelope, embellished with stickers.  Cute animals in silly costumes (I'm not a fan, though I am not opposed  to it either). My favorite has to be the bee dog, and I don't know if this was intended, but the devil kitty next to my name seems appropriate.  I'm just glad Adrina is getting a head start on controversial topics.  She'll be a natural in the art school circuit.  

Back

I remember drawing rainbows a lot as a kid.  I love me a good rainbow, and this one is my favorite.  Last spring, I noticed a lot of real rainbows surfacing after all that heavy rain we were having here in Los Angeles.  I still like to believe that they bring good luck.  

your friend,

ava

The Beginning

This is the first page from my very first diary.  I vaguely remember receiving it as a gift.  It must have been my birthday, but I don't remember for sure. I think I was in the first or second grade, so maybe 6 or 7 years old. I remember holding it and being in love with the color. Pink was my favorite color for a long time back then.  Mainly hot pink and neon pink (ah, to be young in the 90s). I gravitate more towards purples now, but I will proudly sport neon pink on my finger nails when I'm feeling sassy. It was wonderful to go back in time and read each page, wondering what I had to say at such a young age. Believe me, its not much in the beginning.

Here is a transcription: " I like toys. My name is Ava. I play with my toys. The toys that I play with is a lion named Leo. Leo is the best toy I have because he prectes (protects) me at night."

It's funny how as time progresses, life gets more complicated. I start to notice boys, and form relationships with girls.  There begins thoughts of jealousy, loneliness, adoration....

As time went on, it looks as though I would go back to old entries and add to them. Maybe I felt that my innocent entries in the past were too boring. Or maybe I wanted to add thoughts that I felt I had missed. 

"At school I like some of the boys in my class the boys names are Chris, Ryan, Ricky (Richy/Richie), Paul, and most of all Justin. He's the cutest. I think Chris is starting to like me. your friend, ava"

Notice I spelled cutest as quetiset or qutist. I highly embrace dictionaries and spell checks in my old age. 

This had to be the entry where it all started. The beginning of boys. I remember in the 5th grade when Chris, the same Chris in the entry above, told me he liked me......plus two other girls. The three "As": Ava, Alona, and Ayla. This didn't matter though because I was number one. As long as I was first on the list, I could forget that he was a little pimp. So funny what I was willing to settle for back then, but this was my first experience with having a crush. I'm happy to write that I am with the love of my life, Jeaux Janovsky, and it's only taken me five years of my dating career to find him....again (we were friends in college). He's an awesome artist and I recommend strolling through his own blog. We will be celebrating our one year anniversary at The Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. It is so wonderfully tacky, I cannot wait to document. I'll be snapping photos with my newly purchased Fuji Instax Camera ( I was able to snag it for half price online!) and will post them all for your viewing candy!

Until then...

your friend, 

ava