“When you change the story you created, you change your life. I created the story and brought these memories together, and now my past is different from the past I had before.” —Daniela Schiller*

What is it about the things that we see and experience on a daily basis via cell phone cameras that make them worth capturing and sharing? Is it the thrill of seeing things that might not have been seen by the casual glance? Is it the lure of “likes and retweeting” of the said image? It is the joy of realizing how much beauty is overlooked in our daily viewing experience? Whatever it is, the images that we choose to share are but a fraction of the total number of images that we view on a daily basis. Of the millions of images that we take or store in the “cloud,” it is the few that are shared with others that reinforce recall and experience.

Curated Memory by Arthur Fields, BFA 08, is an exploration of how memory is influenced in the digital age. Through the use of social networks and the printed image, mundane scenes are shared with the world. These mundane scenes are revisited through the print to further develop it as a memory. Upon seeing the image, the brain informs us that we have seen or had that experience before. This work promotes the intuitive recognition of everyday moments—moments that we all share. Like the careful construction of the vanishing “scrapbook,” Fields selects the memories that he wishes to re-live.

This group of images represents approximately 365 days worth of image sharing by @artfields on Instagram. These images are shown in the order posted with all associated information plus one added bonus: the addition of a quote, representing a comment or audio blurb overheard by the artist within 48 hours of taking the image. The resulting experience triggers both visual and auditory memories.

*Daniela Schiller (born October 26, 1972, in Israel) is a neuroscientist who leads the Schiller Lab for Affective Neuroscience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She is best known for her work on memory reconsolidation, and on unlearning traumatic memories and addiction.

Arthur earned a BFA in Digital Imaging and Photography from Washington University in 2008 and a Master of Fine Arts in Photography from Texas Woman’s University in 2011. While maintaining a love for abstraction and the portrait; Arthur’s current photographic work deals with self-image and technology relationships.