Created for The Museum for the End of the World , Postcards from the End are sculptural postcards viewers posed with to commemorate their visit.
Postcards became popular mass communication at the turn of the 20th century, reflecting the rise of tourism, the postal system and photography. With shorter messages than written letters, it was often the postcard’s image that told the story.
Beyond their ability to communicate, postcards were collected, stored as memories and shared with others.
Today technological advances let us collect and share photos with communication devices. We send them to friends, and even use them to report news events.
Our increased ability to document spectacles has made it possible to personalizing these photos.
Photographing one’s self at the scene of an event proves participation and evidences the eye witness claim.
Postcards from the End blends photo-ops with disaster to explore their intersection. Rubbernecking and disaster can be a deadly combination, yet images help document, communicate and makes sense of events.
But what is it that are we communicating?
Sarah Beck 