You are currently browsing the monthly archive for January 2012.
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The idea of the impression of the past is driving the initial prints in the Braddock project. For most of these buildings, the story is over, but what was that story? What were the plots and subplots that formed the whole? Much of this can be envisioned, correctly or incorrectly, as can be the ghosts of our imagination.
This general idea began for me in 1991 when I spent three weeks in Wales. My primary interest there was to visit the castles built by the English in their domination of the people of Wales. When in Harlech I was the first person that day to visit the castle, and walking by myself, could almost feel the soldiers of hundreds of years ago brush past me as I wandered the empty hallways.
When I look at these places in Braddock I wonder about the stories that must have been formed. I think about the joys that accompanied the openings and the disappointments that accompanied their closings. As with all things, many of these will go away and be replaced either by another structure to restart the cycle, or by the progress of nature.
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Some places in Braddock bring more questions than I am able to imagine answers. Apparently this was a car dealership, as the text “Ask about our 36,000 mi. new car guarantee” suggests. Where would these new cars have been stored? The building is the size of a large garage, so try as I might, I am not able to envision how this worked.
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I had not heard the term “food Desert” until a few years ago but have now seen it firsthand. Bell’s Market is one of two grocery stores I have seen in Braddock, and both are smaller than a typical convenience store. If one wishes to get quality, nutritional food then unless they have a car, they are pretty much out of luck. I live within a mile of a large grocery store, so in a worst case scenario it would be of little consequence to walk to it to purchase groceries. In Braddock this is not an option. I have not been in this particular store (I have been in the other one, which I previously wrote about), but I am sure that the cost of goods is no bargain.
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It is not unusual to see a pair of houses that were made the same placed next to one another. In Braddock it is also not unusual to see one of the houses occupied and the other shuttered. I cane across a number of such dichotomies, which made me wonder what happened to make one family leave and another stay.
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With the start of the new year I need to get working on my show in June. I have selected a number of prints to be in the show, and need to make others to evaluate. I normally make small prints of each one that is being considered and live with it for a while. If it passes the muster then I make a larger print that is intended to be shown. The next several images that I show are small prints that will be redone in the larger size, probably with a few changes made to each.
There is not a lot of activity in Braddock. As I wander the streets I do see people, but it is not the hustle and bustle to which I am accustomed. This is a mixed blessing. Too much activity can lead to the craziness I see each day, but this is a downtown area that could certainly benefit from a little such craziness. I saw this man twice as I walked the streets and wondered where he was going. Had he left work? Did he have a job? It got me thinking that the next time I go to Braddock, which will probably be in June, I should take an inventory of the businesses that exist in the city. As I continue my documentation it will be interesting to see what survives and what comes to an end over the next decade.
This is part of The Braddock Project, to which I have linked for reference. This project is being created using the Bromoil process.
