Monday, January 24, 2011

In the bag


I have been fascinated by Anthropologie's catalogue featuring purses and their spilled contents. Purses make a great canvas for inspiration boards, their contents giving a quick but intimate portrait of a person, place, time, and mood. They can reveal so much about the past, about who we are, and about who we desire to be.

This vintage purse was acquired ages ago. I included a few beloved objects from my past as well as stuff that came directly from my purse today. There were a lot more jelly beans (beloved objects from my present), but the kids kept stealing them as I was putting together my "purse collage." Suspiciously omitted are the diapers and wipes and the wads of tissue paper...ah, the beauty of storytelling!



As far as what's actually in my purse, my god--that's not a pretty picture. But I think even the receipts, gum wrappers, cookie crumbs, and, yes, diapers and wipes are worthy of reflection. I'm just not a good enough photographer to make them look interesting rather than disgusting.

Sometimes I think about the contents of my purse as evidence, each item like the undigested fig in Dora's stomach in The Fig Eater (minus the morbid murder mystery, I hope). What we choose to carry and what we deem essential says so much about us: our current obligations, headaches, habits, comforts, and guilty pleasures, who we love and who once loved us. Perhaps most revealing is the tension between what was, what is, what could have been, and what still can be.

**Addendum**

My friend Abi kindly noted that the inspiration for Anthro's catalogue cover was Irving Penn's Theatre Accident, 1947. Now this photo has a story to tell.

2 comments:

Red Fox Literary said...

I remember a creative writing class once where the professor gave each of us a purse filled with belongings and we had to write about the person who owned this purse. It was an awesome writing exercise. I actually had an idea for a picture book about the contents of purses. I think every kid loves to root around in their mom's purse. Oh, and you were inspired by the Anthropologie photo, which I think was inspired by this Irving Penn photo:

http://oscillatewildlysiouxsan.blogspot.com/2010/07/theatre-accident-by-irving-penn.html

Isn't it intriguing?

joanne said...

Abi--Thanks for sharing this amazing photo. And that title...I love it!