When I Close My Eyes
Tom Young, American, born 1951
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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