“Imagined” examines a wistful view of America’s past, associated “rosy retrospection” and the challenges of selective memory. By creating digital composites of idyllic, imagined narratives using vintage postcards and photographs, layered on historic backgrounds of disruptive events of the time, I question a collective bias that believes “we need to go back to the way things were.”

The current polarized political environment has created feelings of frustration, anger and emotional distress. As a student of History, what I find troubling is that for some these emotions have led to an unseemly nostalgia partially driven by a low awareness of historical events by most U.S. citizens.  American history is marked by conflict and divisiveness; the last few years are not unique. What is unparalleled are the current, radically changed technologies and their impact on what we deem as real. Photography once had a reasonable claim for reliable representation. This view is now being challenged by social media and altered or decontextualized information.  Perceptions of what is authentic are evolving into decisions based on biases, preferences and mistrust, not on a complete set of facts, knowledge or true representation.

In this project, I use found postcards as nostalgic placeholders to tell simple tales of love, family and adventure. They represent an orderly, carefree world, a perceived counterpoint to now. However, if we want to imagine a past as an allegory for less tumultuous times; it would not be accurate without acknowledging the disruptive events of the era. Using historical research and photo archives, I add documentary evidence showing what was transpiring at the time the postcards were written. When presented as a faded background or detail in the image or title, the factual past can be easily overlooked, the same way facts are ignored by those in search of a predetermined truth or reality. The past is never as perfect as we imagined even if we are selective in what deem as absolute or what the content creator wants us to believe. Returning to “how it used to be” is not a solution to the challenges we face today.  A key obstacle we face is coming to a mutual understanding based on an agreed set of facts of “what makes America great” then and now.