URB Photos #2
Finding cultural gold amidst the clutter
From clutter to curated.
I've been delightfully lost down another rabbit hole, unearthing even more photos to share with you (trust me, there are many, many more). Each moment I spend digging through the URB Magazine archive feels like peeling back another layer or discovering a missing piece of an ever-expanding puzzle. A friend recently dubbed me a "cultural custodian," a label I really dig. I view this role of stewardship as both a privilege and a pleasure. And, if what I’m doing here resonates with you, please tell a friend. It really helps.
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Have you been decluttering too? I was swept up by Marie Kondo, the organizing guru who urges you to discard anything that doesn't spark joy. On the surface, it's a compelling argument. As I minimize the clutter around me, I can better appreciate what remains. But I've recently come to realize that the most crucial part of this process isn't the letting go part; it's about being fully aware of what you already have. Over time, our clutter becomes subconscious. We get it, stash it on a shelf, in a drawer, or in the cloud, and then forget about it.
In my work, I'm zeroing in on Kondo’s step that requires you to physically hold an item and assess its emotional impact. It's insufficient to merely skim through clothes hanging in a closet or to hastily glance at a photograph. Taking the time to get my fingers dusty, like a seasoned crate digger, offers the only true way to gauge what's worth keeping, especially when it comes to historic documents, artifacts, and images.
A blurry shot from 2001, captured on a now-vintage digital camera, can be transformed through cropping and editing. I’ve often taken a neglected photo, applied some Adobe Lightroom finesse, and ended up with a piece worth framing—or at least sparing from my desktop’s trash bin. Kondo's tactile approach to decluttering proves essential in making well-considered choices about what should stay in your collection. The deeper I dive into this process, the more value I find in both keeping and discarding items.
I like to think of decluttering more as curation. When it comes to digital photos, organization trumps size. If duplicates or low-quality images serve no real purpose, I can delete them to free up space. However, I've discovered that even seemingly mundane pictures can suddenly acquire new significance. Thanks to AI-powered editing software, I can breathe new life into long-ignored images. In these instances, I'm glad I opted to keep those few extra megabytes.
Countless stories abound where someone, with the best of intentions, cleaned out a garage and inadvertently discarded another person's cherished heirloom—or even worse, sold it at a yard sale, only to later see it appraised on "Antiques Roadshow" for $40,000. Sometimes these items may appear worthless to anyone but the original owner. I recall a graffiti artist friend lamenting that his mother had thrown away his prized black sketchbooks that were being stored in old boxes. The pebble-covered art store staple may not have looked like much, but for the artist, it represented an irreplaceable loss.
I'll continue to err on the side of history. What appears to be today's mundane artifact could very well become tomorrow's coveted treasure.
And now, the usual disclaimer…
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In other words, please be nice.
Thank you for including us Eklektic ladies. Xo
Love the James Murphy photo. Got to give URB all the credit for turning me on to LCD. I was 25 and convinced I was too old for a new favorite band moment. I was wrong. Thank you!