Join curator Brian Wallis for an in-depth tour and discussion of Scrapbook Love Story: Memory and the Vernacular Photo Album on Saturday, September 22 at 2pm.
Scrapbook Love Story brings together twenty-two distinctive photo albums from the 1890s to the early 1970s, volumes that are distinguished by the ingenuity and passion with which they were assembled by their makers. Prevalent yet highly singular, the photo album is perhaps the most familiar format for viewing 20th century photography. From the invention of the handheld Kodak camera in 1888, to the widespread use of digital platforms for photo-sharing and storage, albums have always been a central vehicle for representing and unifying collective memories and social identities. Given their ubiquity and complexity as visual objects, it is surprising how little critical attention such albums have received as historical documents and artistic achievements. Compiled by everyday makers, these distinctive objects record experiences in love, war, friendship, and domestic tranquility.