The Time Capsule B-Side

The B-Side

Sara Fang

They say that our interpretations of art are shaped by our experiences. As someone whose identity has been formed by countless pieces of art and who spends what is probably an unhealthy amount of time reflecting on her past, I know this statement to be true. The media that I’ve consumed over the years has been tainted in some way, good or bad, by the memories and people I’ve known. I make playlists for the people I love, full of songs that remind me of them. In contrast, several films are hard for me to rewatch because I associate them with times of pain or heartbreak. The relationship between art and memory, between experience and interpretation, is fascinating. What lies underneath the surface of a favorite piece of media? Can a book or a song be saved from the negative memories it’s become linked to in our minds? Is there any value to making these connections in the first place? These are the kinds of questions that the Time Capsule B-Side seeks to answer.

A time capsule serves several purposes. It allows the contributors to live on after they’ve passed; it allows whoever finds it to learn more about the times that came before. It’s something that physically represents this intricate connection between the objects inside and the ways these objects influenced our lives. Perhaps its greatest objective is to be understood. What we seek cannot exist without vulnerability, and the writers of this B-Side have delivered on that front.

As Arts writers, we essentially create a time capsule of our own with every article we publish. We share pieces of ourselves and the things we love with the world, not knowing who will come across our work, when that encounter will occur or whether those who do will gain anything from what we have to say. But that uncertainty has never stopped us from pouring out our hearts week after week — that, I would argue, is one of the most beautiful things that art and writing have to offer.

Daily Arts Writer Hannah Carapellotti