Faded purple curtains, an ill-framed door, empty propane tank, and an "island" walled with chain-link fencing get me thinking about the owners, employees, and patrons of these sites. But the greatest puzzle to me is the "Afro-Blue . . ." inscription found next to railroad tracks in the small town of Beacon, NY. Along with the artwork, are these railroad "hobo" messages or the work of a local poet? And that, to me, is the wonderful thing about photography---it never gives you the absolute truth.
A thousand years from now these human interventions will seem miraculous -- like looking at ancient cave paintings. If any survive. But I understand the attraction because they're rich with hidden meaning. Even the ill-framed door.
ReplyDeleteSo I wonder what you see -- hidden meaning or only the surface? Both maybe though I'm not sure how that works.
Your comment about being attracted to color might move you to look. But is there some wonder then at what you're seeing? I'm always looking for the focus point of some emotional response when I make a photograph. What I see is important but what I feel is equally as important.
Make sense?
I guess that's what I was trying to say about "history." The red door catches my eye, but it's the faded curtain that make me feel I want to know more about the place. Even the attempted carpentry to deal with the sagging building makes me imagine an aged store owner---dealer of potions and other goods of the occult as evidenced by his choices of color.
ReplyDeleteThe "train message" makes me think there is a "hobo society" in the area; it becomes a piece of proof that the romanticized life exists. "Margarita Island" falls into this idea of the romanticized and the reality we often must face when we imagine something more. This was shot at Coney Island, off-season obviously. I imagine the people who had such high hopes for Margarita Island---sand, palm-tree shade, tasty drinks, and beautiful people. What they found was a chain-link pit with over-priced drinks in a parking lot packed with overweight, sun-burned New Yorkers like themselves. "Sadness Island" may be a more appropriate title.
I suppose in all three images there is a sense of failure, or at least unrealized dreams. Something planned has spun into abandon and neglect.
ReplyDeleteSame thing is happening to each of us. Only the timeline varies.