 |
Adam & Edna is the story
of my grandparents. The story is told through a series of letters
and photographs that document their relationship in the 1940's and
50's. Hand written letters and faded photographs archive a turbulent
relationship in which a young woman struggles with her roles as mother,
wife, and lover. While pregnancies ensued and travels outside of the
home prevailed, desires and fears were expressed passionately in the
handwritten script. Contrary to the honesty of language, romantic
photo booth portraits and amateur family photographs attempt to emulate
some sense of normalcy in this nontraditional family.
Adam and Edna lived in Oakland, California. Their story functions
as an intimate investigation of family dynamics and provides a rare
opportunity to hear the female voice unedited. Whether we view Edna
as a failed mother and wife, or question the limited amount of choices
and diversity of roles women were afforded, her words shed light on
the necessity of having options. As I continue to ask in my work,
what is normal, natural, and appropriate, Adam and Edna suggest in
their writings that the ideal is not always realistic. What constitutes
family is not strictly a man, a woman, and a child. What society holds
dear as natural behavior is possibly more relative to time, place,
and personal experience than to biology and contemporary codes of
morality.
|
