Charles Kopp
Memories of Maplewood, 2020
Digital print
20 x16 inches each
I started this project with one central idea in mind: paying homage. Through the content of the photos, I wanted to create a time capsule from which I could remember significant/important parts of my neighborhood and childhood. Through the style of photography and editing, I wanted to call back to my previous experimentations with glass, mirrors and abstractive reflection, all of which have been a staple in many of my favorite series.
The locations of each shot are different places in my neighborhood that all have significance to me. Each of the five prints were shot at different times in the day, starting at sunrise and ending at nighttime. I often visit each of these places at the time the shots were taken and the position of the sun is proportional to how far along in my life these places became significant to me. The first shot, at sunrise, is out of the door/window in my parents’ bedroom. Every morning, light filters through that window into the upstairs hallway, lighting up the house and bringing my family to a gentle wakeup. The second shot, early morning, is taken at Penmar park, with my two dogs, Tula and Pippa. I’ve spent countless mornings at that park, after a short walk with the dogs from my house: running around in the field, playing lacrosse, tossing a frisbee around. The third shot, midday, is in the alley next to my street, where some of my fondest childhood memories have taken place. In the summers of my youth I would walk down the alley with my late caretaker, Imogene, and we would pick lemons from the trees hanging over into the alley to make lemonade and set up a stand on the corner of Palms. The fourth shot, at sunset, is located atop a set of steps that I pass almost every day when I walk my dogs as the sun is going down. The steps have double significance to me, as I often go there to clear my head and get some peace from an otherwise busy and fast life. The last shot, at nighttime, is taken across the street from Beethoven Market, the local corner store. Rarely a week goes by when I don’t stop by the store to pick up snacks and catch up with the two owners, Luis and Miguel, who I’ve befriended after a life near their store.
The eyes within the sheets of glass and mirror at the center of each print are representative of my perception of my neighborhood and the emotions that come with it. The abstraction/destruction of my eyes in the glass tie into the fragility of memory and how wonderful things of the past often become tainted by what follows.
