When I Close My Eyes

Tom Young, American, born 1951

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2008

Archival inkjet print

5/15

Image: 31 1/2 × 22 in. (80 × 55.9 cm)

Sheet: 33 1/2 × 24 in. (85.1 × 61 cm)

Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Richard S. and Jeanne Press

2013.31.2

Portfolio / Series Title

Timeline: Learning to See with My Eyes Closed

Geography

Place Made: United States, North America

Period

21st century

Object Name

Photograph

Research Area

Photograph

On view

Inscriptions

Signed, in pencil, lower right: Tom Young; inscribed, in pencil, lower left: When I Close My Eyes 5/15 2009 Timeline

Label

In When I Close My Eyes, Tom Young intertwines personal and collective memory, layering fleeting moments of family life with landscapes steeped in history. The weight of the books suggests the burden of history, while snow blankets the landscape in stillness. The child’s rosy cheeks and peaceful slumber in a cold car contrast with the unmade bed, emphasizing sleep’s transitory nature. These juxtapositions invite viewers to reflect on how their memories intersect with history’s weight and the present’s quiet pauses.

Young explores how memory lingers, shaping both present and future—much like a dream. He reflects, “While photographing I feel out of time . . . I’m looking both out into the world and back into self, where the world in front of me appears both familiar and mysterious.” This layering of images blurs the boundaries between past, present, and future, subverting linear time in favor of a more fluid, introspective experience.

From the 2025 exhibition A Space for Dialogue 124, In the Space Between, curated by Chandini Peddanna ’25, Erbe Intern

Course History

SART 29, Photography I, Christina Seely, Spring 2019

Exhibition History

A Space for Dialogue 124, In the Space Between, Chandini Peddanna ’25, Erbe Intern, Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, May 31 - July 27, 2025.

Provenance

Richard S. and Jeanne Press, Weston, Massachusetts; lent to present collection, 2013; given to present collection, 2014.

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