man & nature # 213 ~ the face of The Forks
Friday, August 21, 2009 at 08:35AM 
The Hollywood Theatre ~ Au Sable Forks, NY • click to embiggenOn yesterday's entry, man & nature # 211, Matt Dallos commented:
A few weeks back I was up in the Adirondacks for a few days. In the process I ended up driving through Au Sable Forks. It was actually quite a jolting experience. I thought I had a good idea of what the town looked like from your photographs, but the actually place was much different than I had expected ... [T]oday's picture feels more like what I saw. But I didn't see much more than the few buildings you pass along the main road.
My first reaction to this comment is to express my disappointment that Matt was in town and didn't let me know or look me up. Damn. I always enjoy meeting the followers of The Landscapist. A few have even enjoyed the joys and comforts of an overnight stay in my house.
So, just in case any of you are in town or in the neighborhood, please feel free to get in touch and stop by. The more the merrier. Seriously.
That said, it's on to Matt's "jolting experience". I have only posted a relative handful of pictures of the village of Au Sable Forks. There is no particular reason for this "oversight" other than I really haven't taken seriously the idea of picturing the village other than on a very occasional basis.
That said, it is quite a coincidence that Matt should chime in about this at this time - over the past few months I have been contemplating a number of ideas regarding a picture project about the "Forks". Amongst many considerations, one factor that instigated this contemplation was the announcement that an organization from NYC had acquired / was acquiring the vacant Former Masonic Lodge building on Main Street for renovation and development as hub for Arts & Culture - the Tahawus Lodge Center.
Not that I am holding my breath waiting for this project to actually happen. In no way meant to denigrate the idea, it is worth noting that, barring an infusion of private money (lots of private money), this project could be years and years in the making. I have volunteered to help move things along, but ....
In the meantime, actually yesterday AM as I was making yesterday's entry I was struck with a flash of inspiration, I have proposed a mini arts & culture project to the owner of the local movie theatre on Main Street (right next to the Masonic Lodge).
It occurred to me as I was starring at the picture, Plant life at the Hollywood Theatre, that the "coming attractions" display windows on the theatre facade were empty - they have been empty ever since the theatre reopened after decades of vacancy. The new owners, a postal delivery person and his wife, put a lot of sweat equity and a relatively modest amount of money into fixing up the theatre. Nothing at all "fancy", just what has to be done to get the place open and showing movies - which, btw, are first-run movies at $5.00 a ticket.
Much remains to be done as time and money, mostly money, allow. The "coming attractions" display windows are on the list somewhere, but no where near the top. So, my proposal was simply this - I'll put in display boxes in return for using the "coming attractions" display windows to display my village (and surrounding area) pictures - 2 per window on a 2-3 week rotating basis.
The purpose behind this idea is to introduce the village to my work and to lay the groundwork for my picturing-making heart's ultimate goal - to picture every village resident, ala Richard Avedon style - which is to say; plain white bkgrnd, come-as-you-are, plain and simple style.
But I digress. I think that Matt's "jolting experience" regarding what I am reasonably certain was his surprise that the village of Au Sable Forks is not, by a long shot, a picturesque Adirondack tourist town (hey, we don't need no stinking Starbucks). The village, at least the most visual part on Main Street, has the look and feel of a slightly depressed and worn-down working class town - which, btw, it actually is/was.
But, on the other hand, if Main Street is the "face" of the village, the true character of the place isn't visible unless one sees the small residential areas off of Main Street. There you will find well cared for working family homes and yards, many of which have been recently renovated by the "landed gentry" (not) like the wife and me. Children play, adults power-walk (some just stroll), people sit on front porches and say, "hello", it's quite quiet and very very safe.
In an attempt to help others who may venture into our village from suffering the same fate as Matt, I will actually attempt to tag all of my previously posted pictures of The Forks with the tag "the forks" so that they can viewed as a "collection" of sorts. Hopefully this critical mass of Forks pictures will better prepare those who come to town to know what to expect.
Reader Comments (1)
I would have sent you an email to see if you were interested in grabbing a beer, but it was just a road trip with some friends and we were in a rush to catch the last ferry of the day to Burlington.
Most of my shock came from the fact that we didn't drive down the street that you have pictured a few times. I was expecting a few houses and found a somewhat decaying downtown. I liked the area though, and the swimming holes.
The Adirondacks in general were quite interesting. I've been pretty hung up on the idea of The Middle State (see T. Jefferson, or The Machine in the Garden — a must read) and I felt like the Adirondacks in general are a great expression of that idea. They are a real, livable place. And then just outside of any number of towns your start entering wilderness areas. I'll be back soon. Probably Early September or Late October/Early November.