Life is an accumulation of snapshots taken by the lens of our eye and stored in the iCloud of our brain. Throughout life, we’re recording places, faces, events, and images that have made an impact on our life. Our brain has the ability to catalog memories and images that are waiting to be accessed.

I’ve become aware of this phenomenon since I’ve begun my photographic journey of looking for what we can’t see, trusting what we don’t know, and trying to capture the unexplored in an image. Here’s an example of how I flipped through the snapshots of my memory to create one of my pieces of art, from inspiration memory to the final art piece.

Memory Snapshot #1

Picasso

For years I’ve admired Modernism and Expressionism and one can’t help but be aware of the Cubist movement, particularly Picasso.
I admit I’ve struggled with appreciating Picasso, but his work continues to last, influence and impacts so much of life.
(photo from rz100arte.com)

Memory Snapshot #2

Michelangelo

Several years ago I was in Florence, Italy, and of course had to see Michelangelo’s, David. We’ve all seen the pictures but I wasn’t prepared for the strength, beauty, and magnitude of the sculpture in person.
Photographs don’t do justice to the phenomenal grace and power that he carved from marble. It’s truly breathtaking.

Memory Snapshot #3

Adirondack Chair

I found this vintage homemade Adirondack style chair in an antique store in Texas years ago. The years and layers of paint revealed an intriguing combination of red, blue, and ochre colors.  

Result

Picasso's David


​There was an area on the arm of the Adirondack chair with all those colors showing together that caught my eye and the culmination of Memory Snapshot #1 through #3 created the art piece below titled Picasso’s, David.
To me, it looked like a God stretched across the sky moving among the ethereal wisps of the cosmos. Here’s the brain snapshot part: I saw a crown of curls, like the head of Michelangelo’s David, and I saw two eyes slightly off and a twisted mouth, similar to much of Picasso’s work, and hence, the name Picasso’s David. That’s what came out of my memory image recall and inspired my vision with this piece.

What I like about abstract art as a whole and the type of photography I do, is that everyone is looking at the art from the view of their own memory recall. Each person has a completely different set of references. It’s nice when someone sees what I see, but I’m always delighted to know what they see and what my images mean to them. It’s art, there’s no right or wrong, there’s just appreciation for the creativity that’s within all human beings…and for me the adventure of discovering other worlds beyond the surface.  

Picasso’s David is available through the Ann Korologos Gallery in Basalt, Colorado