FORTY PORTRAITS IN FORTY YEARS

Hello everyone!

I am sharing information about good work done in the field of Personal Histories. There is an outstanding series of personal portraits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that illustrate how the stories of ordinary people can be extraordinary, https://lnkd.in/b2TPasr The series, Forty Portraits in Forty Years, which has been shown around the world over the past four decades, will be on view at the Museum of Modern Art, coinciding with the museum’s publication of the book “The Brown Sisters: Forty Years” in November.

Nicholas Nixon started taking pictures of four sisters in 1975 and ended up marrying one of them and taking pictures of them annually. Nicholas shared that over the years they have grown closer to him and they are more comfortable in front of the camera, even determining how they will pose more recently. What intrigues me about these pictures is a gnawing curiosity to hear the stories of their lives as they have moved gracefully into their golden years. I would love to know what adventures they've enjoyed, and what challenges they’ve overcome in all those years" 

Three years after Nixon started his project, I took my first Oral History from my grandfather because he was repeating his story at every family gathering to the point of distraction for everyone and his own inner distress that he may be forgotten. Being my first project and not equipped with a proper transcription machine it was a challenge to transcribe his stories from tape recordings to paper. The smile on his face when I handed him his “book” was worth all the effort we had both put into the project together. I treasure those hours we spent and the special bond we developed to create his treasure. 

I was hooked on the process and have been doing Oral Histories ever since. My project became a passion and developed it into a business If you know someone with stories to save for posterity, or who might want to share the stories of their own beautiful photos, please encourage them to connect with me at [email protected].   

Best wishes for a great 2015!

Connie Shipley Personal Historian cjshipley, LLC