Vanitas project, Aurélie Saulnier

I am not a person very attached to material things, so it was a little difficult for me to find three objects that represent some aspects of my life, my personality, who and what I believe in.  Furthermore, being an international student means that you have to let behind not only your friends and family, but also many souvenirs, books, photo albums, etc, that are a part of yourself. However, these three objects I picked up for this project are very important for me, and for different reasons, meaningful. A book, a wedding ring, and a little set of "pocket souvenirs" that I always have in my purse. 

THE BOOK

Written by Jacques Laurent (1919-2000), a respected French author member of L'Académie Française and a journalist, here is a book I read several times, and with no doubt, will read again. Moments particuliers, meaning "particular moments", is a succession of short texts that relate divers moments of the writer throughout his life, from his childhood to his old age. It is easy to read, funny and deep, well done, touchy, and each word has been chosen with accuracy, a real sense of balance and wisdom. 

As Jacques Laurent said about this book, the "inexplicable persistence of these moments" is that no important consequence resulted from them". These scattered memories had in common only the fact to be peculiar, unclassifiable and unforeseen.  

I read for the first time this book several years ago, and it became special for me because it represents the life as I see it, a succession of choices and moments, happy, sad, though, futile; sometimes important, often insignificant. And this is these last ones in particular the novelist talks about, these common but magic instants that we have a tendency to not see, to forgot; yet, there are the most important according to me, they are the cement, the foundations of life. 

Since my first reading, I have some copies of Jacques Laurent's beautiful book, and may offer one of them as a gift, to persons or occasions I consider special.  

THE RING

This very simple ring is my mother's wedding ring. She gave it to me when my father bought a new one to her. Indeed, when they got married thirty years ago - against the full consent of their families - they were expecting their first child, me, and didn't have money to put in an exuberant celebration, nor diamond ring or expensive clothes. So ten years ago, my dad offered to my mother a new ring, to celebrate their twenty years wedding anniversary. 

Therefore, this jewel is not only a link between my mom and me, although it is, especially now that I live very far away from my family; it also represents my idea of relationships in general, and love in particular. Not marriage, but love. Love as a serious and full commitment, that doesn't demand necessarily to go to the City Hall or the Church, but for sure, requires friendship, patience, forgiveness, honesty, reality, will power, comprehension, acceptation, and many other things. My parents are married for now thirty years, and they've been through a lot nice and difficult moments. I don't  agree with all their choices of life, nor the entire relation they share, and I build on my own.

However, I have a profond respect and an admiration for the love they share, their strength and efforts to overcome difficulties because their story worth it. As my best friend told me once, "good things are not easy". I agree with that.       

THE SET

The last set of objects I chose represent the most recent changements and decisions in my life : a portrait of my five years old daughter, a picture of my boyfriend and me, a quarter of the state of Louisiana, and finally, one of the first messages I got inside a fortune cookie. I always keep them all together close to me. 

My daughter obviously, is the most important person in my life for the last six years. She is smart, kind, has a strong temper, and sometimes, gives me a reason to wake up when I don't see any. According to me, the relationship one share with our child is the deepest and longest commitment one will ever have, and the most important responsability, ever. To be in charged to transmit your knowledge, teach values, prepare your child to face the life, the society, as good as possible, is not easy. And it doesn't exist one and unique way to do, no recipe. 

In second, come a picture of me and my boyfriend and a quarter marked with the state of Louisiana. The first time I came in New Orleans, I fell in love with a man and with a city. I knew immediatly that my road was now, somehow, linked to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. I know where I come from, and my homeland will always be there in France; but here, in New Orleans, I've found a second home, a fascinating and comfortable hearth. 

To conclude, these few words from a fortune cookie "Grand adventures await those who are willing to turn the corner", that resume the main idea of how I conduct my life.

Vanitas project – Candy Nguyen

                Each person has their own important personal object that attach with them to everywhere they go. These objects are not something that expensive or come from unique places, but they represent oneself values, goals, personality and memories. In my personal life, I have many objects that I cannot live without them. Those are my passport, photo frame (with picture) and shoes. Each object represents my identity, feelings and personality.

      1.Passport: 

 

Some people might think that passport is just an object that you need to go around, and they feel annoy keeping it. However, I think it is holding my true identity. It likes a lightest rock in the world that portable and unchanging through lifetime. I am proud to hold it. It has my real name and my home country. It reminds me where I am truly from. The heritage and culture are which I have in my blood. As long as I am keeping it with me to wherever I go, I still remember where to go back and where to begin.

       2.Photo Frame (with picture)

I am a travel person and also frequently moving. So I have many necessaries things to bring with me. A photo frame is not a great idea to carry around when traveling and moving, but for me is an attaching thing and important.

For example, this photo frame is holding a picture of me and my boyfriend. The picture and the frame each has difference values behind them, but it is holding together to make them meaningful.

This is a Hello Kitty photo frame. I assume that everyone know how much I love Hello Kitty. I got this photo frame on Christmas last year. My boyfriend got it from Taiwan where he comes from. At first he just got it because I love Hello Kitty. For me, it is really meaningful. The photo frame is a building block which I have to build it myself. Every block is holding and supporting each other to make the photo frame. It just likes my relationship between me and my boyfriend. We encourage each other when one is facing challenges, and holding when one is stressful or depressed. Building block cannot stand without one piece. It should be perfect and definitive which we are trying to hold and reach.

The picture itself contains our prom memory. It is the only prom that we have in our life. It is inside in the building block house and well protected.

           3.Shoes

Shoes are not only to decorate yourself but also to emphasis your beauty and personality. It also represents power of women.

I love shoes. It always my first choice on my shopping list. I really cannot live one day without them. I would accept to wear cheap cloth or save money from eating to buy shoes. I know it sound crazy. It sounds like that for me as well. Shoe is a good choice to show good parts of me and also a smart option to cover disadvantages of my body.

Shoes are not only one kind of shoe. It contains many sub-shoes such as high heel which is my top priority. This picture is my favorite clog heel. It makes me cheerful from its patterns, confident with the height and comfortable with the materials when I am wearing it.

Some of heels are hurt and feel uncomfortable to wear, but thank to who had invented flat and sandal. I always bring an alternative sandal with me in case whatever might happen.

I think the photo frame is the most important thing in my life so far. Life can change depend on situations and experiences. It is a photo frame right now but in the future there might be something else that more important. But now I value it as a reminder, memory keeper and also self-courage for which I want to keep and gain. 

These pictures were edited with effects. I chose ‘creative’ effect which brings different color to my pictures. I view the world in many colors and point of views, depending on situations and people surround me. From that each objects contains many meanings and have lots of purposes.

Vanitas Project _ Hebe Gurdian

Even if life is not about material things there are many objects that can represent each person’s personality.

In my case, I selected for this project three objects that can represent different aspects of my life. One of them, my computer, represents a physical object, a possession that I always have with me and that has been very important for my professional life. The second object, the flag of my country, Nicaragua, was chosen because it’s something intangible that represents me around the world; it’s where I come from, my beliefs and my culture. And the third object, my party supplies, defines me as a very outgoing person who likes to enjoy every day of life.

First object: my computer.

My computer doesn’t define me, but has been my best friend for the last 6 years, while I was getting my architecture degree. I used to spend long weeks working without sleeping, watching the sunset and sunrise with no one else than she: my laptop. Also, all the time that I’ve spent working or living is saved here: academic papers, designs, pictures, videos, documents and memories. I don’t like to say that I’m addicted to my computer, but I don’t have other choice for working or studying in architecture. A computer is essential for this profession, not only for rendering or drawing, but for finishing projects with high quality on time.

Second object: my flag.

As we, Nicaraguan citizens, say “I’m very proud to be Nica”! I couldn’t have been born in a different place; Nicaragua is a country that represents me, a place that I really love. No matter where I am, I always miss my land, my people and our culture. Growing up in a small country has a lot of advantages, for example, we are very close to our family and friends, people know each other pretty well and we share the same traditions. Two of my favorites are Nicaraguan food and our popular celebrations. Growing up in an underdeveloped country has made me tougher about certain things, for example, that life is more than material things, that with our help many things can be achieved and that the experience of watching and experiencing nature is priceless!

           

Third object: my party supplies.

Despite the fact that I could only bring a few things in my luggage I couldn’t leave my black ankle shoes! They are not a big deal, actually they're very cheap! But they have funny and lovely stories behind them that have an emotional meaning. They remind me about the best months of my life that spent with my best friend: my boyfriend. Those months represent a before and after in my life and, unconsciously, those shoes accompanied me during many special moments that I will never forget.

It was hard for me to find the three things for this assignment because I don’t have any of my valued objects in New Orleans, but then I saw the shoes in my closet and I knew at that moment that they were going to be part of this project. Besides, heels are always associated with party, and yes, that’s another reason why I chose them: I love to party and spend good times, it's part of my philosophy about life, and those shoes make me feel so comfortable when I’m wearing them! (It’s kind of funny but it’s true).

It’s part of my personality to be a very outgoing person who likes to hang out and have fun, especially with my good friends. The way that I enjoy life is probably very different from what other people do but I like to spend everyday of my life as if it were the last. I wanted to represent with the beads that I love to have fun and have a great time, not only at parties but everywhere. I always try to enjoy every moment and, in this part, my friends and my boyfriend are very important because they make me feel so happy! We are always having a blast, making jokes and laughing. This is part of who I am and the way that I like to be.

In summary, I chose three things that are not only part of my every day life, but also have a deeper meaning for me. Those three things represent somehow who I am and some of the moments that I've lived that have influenced important aspects of my life. It doesn’t mean that only those three things are part of my person, this project is only a small piece of me ;) .