Memoir (February 13, 2009)
winter 2009 | poster | 24" x 36"

Memoir (February 13, 2009), inspired by On Kawara’s Today paintings, is a list of all the days of my life leading up to the day the poster was made.

This project is an exploration of the meaning of memory and the significance of dates. It may seem absurd to think of a memoir as a list of days, objective and untouched by any actual experience. On the other hand, it can be the truest representation of the past—a list of facts. I want the viewer to decide: can the past be classified as a database of dates? Is this a true memoir? Or are memories what falls in between the lines of type on the paper?

A second piece in the Memoir series (see image 05), was a site-specific work created for the RISD Thesis Exhibition show. Set in a narrow column 10 feet high, it is a recording of my history until the day the show began.

Since 1966, Kawara has been making a series of Today paintings, which depict the date on which the painting was executed. If he cannot finish the painting on the day it was started, he destroys it. The amount of time required to complete a date painting, from 8 to 12 hours, is the work’s content. The paintings are the evidence of what happened that day—as a series, they are his history.