What Went Before, What is to Come?….
My ongoing interest is in the impermanence of architectural deterioration and renewal. Buildings are subtle and just wear away, day after day. I like to see the patterns, and the textures. Looking at William Christenberrys’ photographs of buildings sitting in an empty landscape, I ask why? A few years ago I saw a show of photographs by Stephen Wilkes, of the old hospital buildings at Ellis Island. I went back many times to look at it, amazed by the beauty he found in the decaying buildings.
Brick becomes weathered, but is more lasting than wood. The colors of brick often become warmer with age, but the shapes are less distinct. It is part of a cycle. Something is removed, leaving a new form below. Mortar slowly chips away, allowing the bricks to sit directly on top of each other. A repair to the mortar often leaves the bricks outlined in white, changing the texture of the surface.
Windows and doors become empty eyes into the darkness, or a view through out to the far side. If the light is right, they reflect back at the viewer, creating an inadvertent self-portrait. In time plants take over the buildings, both furthering the deterioration and yet hiding it from view. Aging metal rusts, and changes to many colors and textures, copper trim on buildings changes to green.
In time some of these buildings might be returned to contemporary use, but their original texture remains. These images from New York, California, Vermont, and Boston are different, but I feel a commonality in the subject matter.
