A thought haunted me the other day. I kept trying to remember the meaning of a German word that I had heard but couldn't remember what it meant. The word was "Zeitgeist". After going online and "Googling" the word, I found out that the meaning of zeitgeist is "the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time". In fact, the word is derived from two German words; "zeit" which means "time", and "geist" meaning "spirit". After thinking about it, I realized that while the reason I began collecting old photos was not to get a feel for the zeitgeist of various periods of time but that had originally conceived of a website based around the idea of creating an "imaginary family" - one that I had always wanted and never had. I think that most people have dreamed of how their life might have been different if they had only grown up in a family of people who were more attractive, interesting, more wealthy, more creative, or perhaps with people who hold more traditional values and tastes than their own. I not only had this wild thought, but began buying old vintage photos from various sources with the hope of creating an entire photo album along these lines as a creative endeavor. This was why I started collecting photos strictly of people.
I also like to collect photographic images of people because they remind me that a good photograph invoke memories, and that the best memories in life are not centered around things such as art, cars, architecture, monuments, animals or even panoramic vistas but the people in our lives.
It was only after I had built this website and then began categorizing my collection of old photos into specific time periods in order to add some organization the collection that I realized that what I was creating was indeed a sense of zeitgeist. While I am aware that this and any creation of a sense of zeitgeist that comes from my old photos collection also comes with my own stereotypes and ideas, I think that I have learned more about what people actually looked like and even how they acted than I ever expected to before I started.
I have stated in my website that I think that old photos like these are more than amusing images of people posing for their family and friends and are actually like artifacts that can show what life was actually like for past generations. While these photos no longer represent personal momentos for anyone, they can represent the past by creating a sense of zeitgeist of their time for future generations.
In the end, I have to say that more than ever I appreciate my own family's photo collections as a way for me to remember stories of important people and events in my family's history and a reminder of how important mnemonic devices such as a photo actually are to me.
I also like to collect photographic images of people because they remind me that a good photograph invoke memories, and that the best memories in life are not centered around things such as art, cars, architecture, monuments, animals or even panoramic vistas but the people in our lives.
It was only after I had built this website and then began categorizing my collection of old photos into specific time periods in order to add some organization the collection that I realized that what I was creating was indeed a sense of zeitgeist. While I am aware that this and any creation of a sense of zeitgeist that comes from my old photos collection also comes with my own stereotypes and ideas, I think that I have learned more about what people actually looked like and even how they acted than I ever expected to before I started.
I have stated in my website that I think that old photos like these are more than amusing images of people posing for their family and friends and are actually like artifacts that can show what life was actually like for past generations. While these photos no longer represent personal momentos for anyone, they can represent the past by creating a sense of zeitgeist of their time for future generations.
In the end, I have to say that more than ever I appreciate my own family's photo collections as a way for me to remember stories of important people and events in my family's history and a reminder of how important mnemonic devices such as a photo actually are to me.
