Where can I find images that are evocative of successful relationship?
January 10, 2013 11:04 AM   Subscribe

I've been looking at environments, especially my home, and seeing how they impact me in terms of imagery. I'm specifically looking for images I could place in my home that are evocative of successful relationship.

Recently I placed a couple of photos of a heroic endeavor near where I work. Day to day I see them and they are inspiring beautiful photography with the subject matter related to my work. I have begun assessing what other inspiring images I could have in my life, particularly with regard to my home and relationship with my partner.
This can be a wide arena of possible images obviously that might dwell on images of bonding, love, eroticism, or other related thematic topics.
When I look around my bedroom, for example, I've become aware of how it's become sort of a default conglomeration of stuff and behavior. I'm looking to put some directed art in this place that has a positive impact on my relationship with my SO. I'm curious how people make their shared environment with their partner more of a love nest, or how they transform it with art to make it more of a healing and bonding experience on any or all levels. Thanks.
posted by diode to Human Relations (8 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Check out Pinterest! Typing in keywords like "romance" and "love" should give you some images.
posted by Anima Mundi at 11:06 AM on January 10, 2013


Do you have photographs of the two of you from when you were first dating that you could enlarge and/or frame? My wife and I started dating before digital photography, so we don't have too many photos from our early days, but when I see them I always get a nice feeling. I also love looking at adorable childhood photos of my wife, especially now that we have a daughter that resembles her.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:16 AM on January 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


Not at all an expert in successful relationships, but one thing we cherished when I was in a long-term relationship was shared memories - as in photographs or prints from somewhere we'd gone on holiday, or a toy, a book or a little figurine. Best if we'd bought it together, so we could talk about doing that.
posted by mumimor at 11:23 AM on January 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


Yeah, I'd think pictures of your successful relationship, souvenirs from trips with your SO, etc. are going to have the biggest impact. Anything that brings back happy memories.
posted by COD at 11:30 AM on January 10, 2013


I keep a few doodles that my boyfriend has drawn for me at my desk. One is of my cat, Nubs, panhandling for cat food and one is of Nubs having a drink at the bar with the caption "It's hard bein' a Nub." They are not...romantic per se, but I look at them and know my boyfriend drew them because he knew it would make me laugh and that makes me happy!
posted by Katine at 11:50 AM on January 10, 2013


Images of happy people and loving couples are everywhere. I like some of Marc Chagall's romantic paintings like this.
posted by steinwald at 1:30 PM on January 10, 2013


You might want to go with something more symbolic. I can see how an photo of some cheerful inspirational image of the "successful relationship couple/family" in your bedroom could backfire and get really annoying. There's a reason why those faceless Hallmark Willow Tree figurines are popular. Pictures of flowers and fruit and birds are also traditional for this sort of thing.
posted by steinwald at 2:03 PM on January 10, 2013


I'm another who generally conceptualises my relationship's "success" and commitment in terms of experience (and therefore have a house full of reminders of those experiences - photos and souvenirs of our travels, the op-shop coffee cup that's perfect for SomePartner's long fingers, the little three-word note on scrap paper he wrote me six years ago). We don't actually have a lot of art on the walls, but we send each other links to images we know the other will like all the time.

However, answers to the question of where you can find suitable images will be difficult to give without knowing what sort of imagery resonates with you.

Some people think of love in terms of cute animal pics (with or without LolCat captions. For some it's framed images from XKCD.

For some it's about commitment; for some about the vibrance of being together. For some, it's inspirational, or maybe aspirational.

For some, it looks like this. For some, it looks like this. For some, it looks like this - or they want to know it will some day.

My suggestion would be to go to town on Google Image Searches, and work out what moves you most, then look for prints of those sorts of images.

I'd also suggest considering doing a photoshoot together? I'm not sure I'd actually have a photo of myself on the wall with or without partners, but knowing that there are good photos of your happy times together can be a wonderful thing.
posted by Someone Else's Story at 7:41 PM on January 11, 2013


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