Convenient angles of view in the city present legible messages, with existing materials, without the need for more.
In this case, an eager urbanist can stand in one place, and read the very words he desires.
No graffiti required.
Image composed by the author. Click on the image for more detail.
Image composed by the author. Click on the photograph for more detail.
I’ve often written that there is no substitute for imagery that humanizes urban trends and brings to life popular city pastimes.
The two black and white photographs below are no exception, and, by design, need little interpretation. One is passive, the other active, but together they illustrate the increasingly shared nature of the American city street.
In “The Crossing”, a distant pedestrian shows the way to the protagonist, as she forcibly takes back the street with willful abandon.
In “The Urban Bench”, three women–one independent of the others–share a space carved out for sitting, observing and interacting with the urban fabric.
In the end, both “The Crossing” and “The Urban Bench” invite reflection, and infuse a European flair to otherwise traditional American asphalt settings.
All images composed by the author. ©2012 Charles R. Wolfe
The reflective prowess of a summer’s lunar light enhances the tension between the constructed and the natural. In the image above, wires cross the moon, and built incursions frame the water, all working explanations of how a city can create a new sense of place.
Image composed by the author.
I imagined a contest today—for the best snapshot portrayal of the DNA of the American city.
The challenge would read, simply, “the first prize will be awarded to the photograph that the judges believe embraces not where we are going, but where we have been”.
I have no doubt that my entry would be the image above, a recent spontaneous capture in Minneapolis, featuring an eery dusk light on classic brick and an iconic American car.
I am left wondering whether or not I would win, and what the prize would be.
Image composed by the author.