THE MEMORY MISJUNCTION

For many of us, we believe memory works like that of a film or picture book - recalled to mind on demand, in vivid color, and uniquely total. I prefer to think of memory as the collection of lines, planes, forms, and colors that somehow influenced or were influenced by an emotion within us. Our memories are no more based in realism than the painting above, yet we recall the elements individually that compose the whole. In many ways, memory is idealized, as it never captures the entirety, but we still establish our own associations to places. It is the connection and progression of these associations that manifest our identity and morality. We are the sum of our manufactured and imperfect parts.