Estate Sales: Everything Must Go
by Danielle Aseff
This documentary series deals with the practice of estate sales and the complex emotions that accompany them. There is a strange juxtaposition between the justifiably emotional family members and the intent to imitate a retail store complete with helpful “salespeople”, colorful price tags and items displayed on tables to sell. Walking through a home and appraising a lifetime of accumulation, you can almost feel the person there – an incorporeal commercial presence. A lifetime of hard work and sacrifice was required to purchase these goods, now offered for sale at bargain prices. The old photographs, memorabilia, clothing and books are a window into a life – markers of economic status, cultural affiliations and personal idiosyncrasies. At these sales one can’t help but form an image of the person whose home has been converted into a temporary store. Even in death, a consumer’s vision of what they wanted from life is evident in the items left behind.
What an insightful series–hit close to home!
I like it very much. It’s very interesting.
A lot of pictures of not very much, needs editing down.
Oh wow - this is great! I frequent estate sales, and am always fascinated by the spirit of the person, and the psychology behind all that stuff. Not to mention the shoppers. Thanks for these great photos. I’m linking to this photo documentary on my blog. Hope that’s ok! If not, let me know.