Review by Douglas Stockdale ·
How does one confront the memories of loved ones who have left us too soon? This is at the crux of Donna Tramontozzi’s poetic mediation of her self-published Long Rememberings of Goodbyes.
Historically paintings have been resplendent with representation and symbols that provided coded messages to the reader. This visual narrative concept was brought to the forefront of photography by Alfred Stieglitz in his famous Equivalents series in 1922 when he attempted to convey his emotions and inner state through visual forms, the clouds over Lake George, New York. It is through the use of the photographic metaphor that Tramontozzi uses photographs of ice forms and algae covered cypress trees paired with her text to relate to us, the reader, her enduring losses.
She has published her book, part as a tribute, part memorial, in the aftermath of her lingering grief due to the consequences of her four brothers’ inherited disorder. All four passed well before their time. Tramontozzi chose not to discuss which inherited condition that her brothers delt with in the body of her book (detailed in the Afterword), but upon a cathartic visual and bittersweet narrative.
For many individuals, with our current understanding of the medicine and science, we soon learn that our family’s medical history can haunt us. Due to the mix of our inherited genes, we may have a potential ticking biological bomb that might manifest itself later in life in the form of cancer, painful ailment or memory loss. For a smaller community of individuals, the effects of the passing gene pool manifest itself soon after birth, such as those with sickle cell disease or the various forms of hemophilia, a blood-clotting condition.
Families now deal with the consequences and trauma of making the decision to have children, with more knowledge of the underlying medical risks. Nevertheless, how the extended family subsequently has to deal with the consequences of those decisions, resulting lives lived and belated memories is the subject Tramontozzi’s book. She has sequenced her photographs to engage us with close up images of ice, then a section of photographs of the details of cypress trees laden with algae and then closes with ice once again. Most of the page spreads include a photograph paired with her reminiscing of childhood good-time event discussions juxtapositioned with observations and snippets of final conversations with each of her brothers. The photographic content, whether natural ice formations or intricate algae covered branches, are in stark contrast to the accompanying heart-breaking personal narratives.
She states “Metaphorically, I see the ephemeral nature of ice as a form of memory.” Indeed, ice is transient, ever changing and it occurs seasonally, similar to how our memories occur and change over time. We recall some details with acute clarity, while others seem to hide under an inch of translucent ice; almost recognizable, but yet indistinct, while we know that something did occur at one time or another. Aline Smithson, in her review of her book on Lenscatch, states “(she) brings these memories into focus with a book that uses the natural world as sanctuary, as a place to land, in all its remarkable beauty. When combined with personal text, she creates a powerful and deeply felt journey into the fragile past.”
Her ice photographs are dark and mysterious, with details lingering on the surface while hinting of an unknown depth. These cold formations display beautiful organic patterns created by unseen natural forces at play. Objects rise briefly to the surface while mostly lurking below, visible and yet in places, slightly tantalizingly concealed.
The cypress trees that line the coast of the Pacific Ocean have evolved over the decades, adapting to the sometimes harsh and salty environments. These wind-buffed trees are now mostly adorned with a fuzzy coat of colorful algae, which has a symbiotic function, supported by the tree’s presence while providing some nourishment during the harsher drier times of the winter season.
She found another metaphor in the algae covered cypress tress of the California coast…” mixed with salt water, are irrevocably changed. The process doesn’t kill them, but they become something of a different organism. Similarly, when time mixes with some memories, facts slip away until only emotions remain and those memories become part of your body. The images of the cypresses capture how some of my most painful memories feel.”
Tramontozzi poignantly concludes, “What mattered was they kept on living until they died. What mattered was they helped each other under dire circumstances. What mattered was they left us with what was important.” Sage words for all survivors to mediate upon.
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Douglas Stockdale is the Senior Editor and Founder, PhotoBook Journal
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Long Rememberings of Goodbyes, Donna Tramontozzi
Photographer: Donna Tramontozzi born and resides in Boston, MA
Self-published, copyright 2022
Essays: Donna Tramontozzi
Text: English
Hard cover, cloth with tipped in image, perfect bound, digital offset, printed by Edition One, print runs of 50 and 100 copies, ISBN 979-8-218-07785-3
Photobook Designer: Rotem Meller
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