The Perpetuity of ‘Show and Tell’

Today, on Substack, I explain the relevance of the “115 Seen” Portfolio:

Here is a quick, spontaneous update to the notion of an exile upon an exile to “take stock” discussed late last week, and the “let’s say” route to place immersion in New Mexico put forth last year.

I admire several friends who help others write memoirs, sometimes as an adjunct to their writing careers or coaching practices (that includes you, Ann Hedreen). Implicit are the notions that there is some legacy in our life experiences, regardless of circumstances, and that we all have gained some wisdom (championed by you, Chip Conley) to pass on.

AI—to the degree it has emotions—loves to tout our “tapestry,” a word probably stolen from Carole King’s “rich and royal hue” without permission.

As I love to advocate the virtues of observation of place, landscape, and circumstance, I’ve found that the “show and tell” I learned in elementary school may best fit this form of liminal exploration. So, in compiling the projects and portfolios for the Sustaining Place website, I was sure to add an exploratory adventure, incomplete by design, called “115 Seen.”

115 Seen

Please click on the link above and watch the show.

I share this portfolio because I was surprised by how the selection process for each photo brought back memories and revelations.

I paired the first photo in Montenegro with the last in the Phoenix Botanical Garden.

Why?

Perhaps it is as simple as Georgia O’Keeffe’s fascination with shapes on landscapes, be they animate or inanimate (speaking of New Mexico). Or maybe there is a “rich and royal hue” continuity. Or perhaps I do not yet know, and it doesn’t matter.

My Portfolio description follows.

Beginning with a 1975 sunset over Sveti Stefan on the Adriatic Coast of Montenegro, these 115 images track observations and encounters for the succeeding 40 years, across Italy (Rome, Florence, Amalfi Coast, Puglia, Basilicata, Dolomites), Israel, Tanzania, Portugal, Canada (Vancouver), Iceland, France (Paris, Provence, Cote d’Azur) the Palouse and Puget Sound areas of Washington State, Montana, Scotland, England (London/Richmond and Newbury), Ireland, Australia, Sweden, the Czech Republic (Prague), Gibraltar, Oregon, California (Eureka, Mendocino, Paso Robles, San Francisco, Palm Springs), Arizona, and New Mexico.

These images are a small fraction of my work (over 150,000 photos and short videos), and the Portfolio is a literal and figurative placeholder for further refinement and focus.

Let’s say “show and tell” is tomorrow. Which of your images would you bring?

And a humble reminder—if you cannot yet recite the moral of your story, trust in others to let you know what you have passed on.