Wednesday, March 9, 2011

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)

7 comments:

  1. This gave me chills— I'm so happy for you to have this experience.

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  2. Rachel, Thank you for sharing such a tender and compelling moment with us.

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  3. I can't even imagine how complicated this must have felt! It's amazing what we keep with us.

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  4. Wow, that's really intense. Glad you had this experience, as complicated as it was.

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  5. The voice of our birth Mother is our very first relationship, albeit in utero.

    Our Mother's voice triggers firing of synapses in our primal brain: Mother is safety, the root of intimacy, the unification of two souls as one. It really did exist, deeply felt, all along in our own back yard.

    Good for you--and your Mother. A lovely journey.

    You write quite well, Lucky.

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  6. And your hair is soooo long!

    Wow's it!

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