Jonas Mekas - Response to Kiersten's Presentation

"I never throw anything away." - Jonas Mekas Although not a hoarder (per se:), I have a hard time throwing things away as well. Everything has a purpose or meaning, and whenever you rid of something you've had for 20 years, you need it within a week. Mekas carrying his Bolex camera in a laundry bag for safety supports the commitment to his art. Even when the Bolexs would retire or break, he would save them amongst the countless documents and negatives organized into metal filing cabinets, folders, and boxes. It would be blasphemous to toss these relics, so they live in a confined space like a brain in abundance of memories. Although a morbid point of view, I imagine Mekas as the kind of man wo when he passes, no one will know what to do with all of these documents. Will they become the photographs strangers finger through in the bargain bin at the City Mission? What happens to the treasures that are someonelse's trash? I ponder Mekas' point of view of memories existing beyond the body.

Comments

  1. kissincousinsFebruary 21, 2021 at 6:41 AM

    The good thing is, his hoard looks like it is just art stuff and not piles of food wrappers and cat poop! I can't imagine the amount of dust that exists in that place because I have a little bit of hoarder in me when it comes certain things, especially my work. Even if I took a horrible batch of photos in 1997, I still have them in a box somewhere downstairs close to the door. In case of a fire, the pets and the photos are the most important things I want to save (and myself, of course).

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  2. silvashanMarch 1, 2021 at 3:21 PM

    We're total minimalist so I panic when I see his space, but I absolutely love that he is a collector/hoarder of these things. Somebody has to be the keeper - I'm just thankful its not me! We still have our same Bolex from 1998. It's a work beast. Until it dies its the only one I need. lol

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