Time Travel

What brought me to ICP was a desire to get my hands on the original materials that went into the making of a series of films about photographers, made in collaboration between ICP founder Cornell Capa and my mother, Sheila Turner, in the early 1970s. I spent last summer going through a dozen of these boxes, listing their contents.

Now I am at ICP working with the Audio Visual collections, and today I traveled through time. We recently purchased an analog reel to reel tape deck, and this morning I threaded in an interview my mother conducted with Cornell Capa in 1971. Hooking up my headphones to this device, I played back the reel and heard my mother's voice for what was the second time since she died in 1979. The last time was a few years ago when I played a record she made where she narrated another program.

I am sure it is hard to imagine the surreal yet soothing experience of hearing the voice of a parent, long gone, and feeling like you're right there. I felt like I was sitting down with the two of them for tea. I forgot to mention I am sitting in Cornell's chair at his desk in this photo, while listening. (Photo by Pauline Vermare)