jim golden animates vintage devices for relics of technology

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.’

the large plastic buttons one of the first portable cell phones rapidly blink

a rotary dial landline telephone rings

a projector for classrooms

movie projector wheels rotate

a typewriter slowly ticks away at a piece of paper

stacked floppy disks form a geometric pattern on the page

colorful fujifilm floppy disks composed on a blush rose backdrop

jaz drives

VHS tapes

sony cassette tapes

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