Artist, Educator, Photographer

Here is an interior shot of that wall from the previous post.  I was thinking about that image and I don’t think that it is as strong as it could be.  Keep in mind first that it is meant to be seen much larger than a computer screen so that you would connect more to the bench and notice little details like the orange smashed on the ground.  I have a wider shot of the same building from a higher vantage point that includes the staircases through either set of windows and I feel it exaggerates the height of the building while giving a better feel for how large the plaza in the foreground is.

While composing the image above I heard a strange repetitive knocking sound coming from behind the wall.  It turns out that the above mentioned plaza was a favorite place for some students to play racquet ball.  I imagine the initial purpose may have been for outdoor performances or even a good place to put tables and chairs for students to study at.

This interior space (the lobby) has some artwork hung on the side walls and has apparently been used for many purposes over the years.  Just before I made this image there had been a class meeting in these chairs.   With the new addition to the structure this wall will be torn and the lobby will be doubled in size (so long to racquet ball).

Over the four years or so that I have been working on this project I am amazed how much changes.  I often go back to a site to rephotograph it and find that tables are missing or new art has been put in.  This time when I was photographing I knew I had to get it right because not more than a month later there would be an addition added and this wall would be wiped out.  See addition images here.

I have always appreciated those that photograph architecture for purposes of preservation/documentation such as Richard Nickel, Bob Thall, or Lee Bay.  For more information about preservation go to Preservation Chicago.  But, I have been thinking about how I want my work to be thought of.  I don’t want my work to be in the preservation category.  Yes, from time to time I really enjoy making a more traditional image of an architectural landmark, but otherwise I like to keep “my work” rather anonymous.

Over time I have had some frustration and enjoyment from people asking where this or that image was taken.  The frustrating part in that  is that they are focussed on finding out where the image was made rather than thinking about the purpose of the work.  The enjoyable part is when someone swears that they know the location and ends up wrong,  and they recognize that this type of ersatz objects are put in to this type of architecture everywhere.

And this is why I keep the images anonymous.  Who didn’t go to a university  or visit a civic center with at least one brutalist pice of architecture, they are everywhere.  But, no one seems to like them.  Obviously I do, but I am not on a quest to document them before they are all gone.  Yes, If it were possible I might just go to every piece of Architectural Brutalism on the face of the earth before they (or I) are gone.  But, I would go for the experience, not to photograph.

I feel that my work is about the experience.  I adventure out in to the architectural landscape of glass metal and cement (and a lot of cement there is).  I go to explore what man has built, and I experience it.  I wander campus after campus and wait for a reaction to the cement landscape.

People always ask me (you know who you are) why there are never any people in my images.  I always say that I don’t like to photograph people, but I really think it is because people get in the way of my experience. I choose locations and times that are free of people.  If there are people present I will often come back an hour later when they are gone.  Part of my process of photographing is to sit in the space and think about the design, think about how people use it, people watch if  anyone passes through, and then plan out my shot.  With my best images I often spend 15 minutes or even a half hour experiencing before making the right image.

I have attempted to include people in my shots, but I don’t like anything I do because I feel people will focus more on the individual and loose sight of their interaction with the architecture.  This is something I should probably continue to work on.