jim golden animates vintage devices for relics of technology
(above) a TEAC X-3: reel-to-reel tape recorder endlessly spins
all images courtesy of jim golden

 

 

 

 

portland-based photographer jim golden delivers a hearty dose of nostalgia in his series ‘relics of technology’, comprising animated gifs and still life images. geometrically placed in a palette of vintage tones, the documented objects are society’s ‘technological’ media devices from the past, brought to life in a collection of moving images — one of the the plastic buttons on one of the first portable cell phones (nearly the length of an arm) rapidly flicker, a typewriter casually ticks away at a piece of paper and a reel-to-reel tape recorder spins at a steady pace. the still shots are carefully arranged, illustrating objects like the once-ubiquitous floppy disks and VHS tapes. ‘the seeds for the relics of technology project started when I found a brick cell phone at a thrift store in rural oregon. since finding it, similar bits and pieces of old technology and media kept grabbing my attention.’ golden describes, ‘these photos are reminders that progress has a price and our efforts have an expiration date.’

jim golden animates relics of technology
the large plastic buttons one of the first portable cell phones rapidly blink

jim golden animates relics of technology
a rotary dial landline telephone rings

jim golden animates relics of technology
a projector for classrooms

jim golden animates relics of technology
movie projector wheels rotate

jim golden animates relics of technology
a typewriter slowly ticks away at a piece of paper

jim golden animates relics of technology
stacked floppy disks form a geometric pattern on the page

jim golden animates relics of technology
colorful fujifilm floppy disks composed on a blush rose backdrop

jim golden animates relics of technology
jaz drives

jim golden animates relics of technology
VHS tapes

jim golden animates relics of technology
sony cassette tapes

 

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