The Elderly

The proportion of the elderly in the population of the developed world has grown. Are we to be a resented burden on the lives of the succeeding generations, or can we be relevant in the world, and in the lives of our successors. I cannot answer these questions, but this project will give both literal and impressionistic representations of a sample of the elderly among us through the media of both digital photography and alternative photographic processes. This proposal will show six subjects in their seventies and eighties shown in five photographic formats. The different formats will convey different moods because of their different textures, contrasts, and colors.

Older people walk through the world anonymous and invisible but their images can be interesting to behold upon close examination. In a way they become caricatures of their former selves: hollow eyes, stooped frames, creased visages, flabby musculature, and exaggerated ears and noses. We depend upon the youth, and it is up to us to stay in their good graces.

For those of us who can, this is a good time to give back, and for those of us unable, this is a good time to show humility and graciously accept help.

The color digital and the black and white images give a relatively accurate representative image of ourselves as others see us and as we see ourselves. The alternative process images are far more diffuse and create an impression of ourselves that exaggerates features and textures. The different processes create moods and are more of an artists impression rather than an accurate rendering. We may see ourselves in these images or we may not recognize ourselves. To think that any photograph is an accurate rendering of how others see us is an illusion.