© Paolo Dala
Against Time
My day job is piano player. For a couple of decades now I’ve made commercial albums and spread that litter across the world, over which I’ve tread time and again, putting the tour bus in reverse and backing over it repeatedly until some people can sing a few lines of my songs. Meanwhile I’ve carried my camera along the way, pausing to print my black-and-white images in my dark room, and more recently in a light room, littering my friends’ and family’s hallways, drawers, and closets with prints. I am inspired by photography of all kinds, even ones with colors in them. Spending time with you and your photos over this month is my idea of a good time and I’m honored to be your guest editor this month. Anyway. Enough about me...
Anachronism is a word of Greek origin, meaning “against time” (not to be confused with an acronym - an abbreviation turned into words, like NASA). As an example, let’s imagine a photo of a movie actor playing Napoleon, who’s texting between breaks in costume on his iPhone. That has classic anachronistic absurdity. An absurdity such as an anachronism can help illuminate who we’ve become, what has changed, and what has remained the same.
As a songwriter, I’m given to see art in terms of its story, and I think an anachronistic photo gives us a lot of potential for a story. The element of novelty might well be the point, or it might only be the tip of the emotional iceberg that draws us in. As far as I’m concerned, photography itself could be said to be “against time.” It might defy time, or distort time, but It doesn’t actually freeze it, because our perceptions are ever evolving and we won’t see a photo the same way as we age. Playing with time through an anachronism has potential to exaggerate how the viewer feels about change, in the world and in themselves. I’m looking forward to seeing what we come up with. I say make ‘em silly if you like. Make ‘em novel, sad, or even frightening. But let’s not forget the possibility that we might, even by accident, tell a story.
Ben Folds Anachronism
