man & nature # 151 ~ ever so slightly "off"

Birch and giant compressor - 1980 Olympic Ice Arena • Lake Placid, NY • click to embiggenWhen it comes to picture making, I really like these 2 quotes that seem to me to be quite complimentary:

One of the major changes in attitude that occurred in the world of art as we moved from the nineteenth into the twentieth century was that the twentieth century artist became more involved with personal expression than with celebrating exclusively the values of the society or the church. Along with this change came a broader acceptance of the belief that the artist can invent a reality that is more meaningful than the one that is literally given to the eye. I subscribe enthusiastically to this belief. - Jerry Uelsmann

My gift to you is that I am different. - Duane Michals

IMO, I don't think that an artist has a snowball's chance in hell to invent a reality that is more meaningful than the one that is literally given to the eye unless he/she him/herself is different.

I think it's a really simple equation - one can't see differently if one can't think (and feel) differently from the "norm". And I'm not talking about being different for the sake of being different. I'm talking about being different at the core of your very being - always was, always will be. Couldn't change it without mode-altering pharmaceuticals even if you tried.

You probably know what I mean - someone out there near the fringe, on the edge of things. Doesn't run with the crowd. A different drummer and all that stuff.

man & nature # 150 ~

Church - Waterville, NY • click to embiggenThis church with its sun-etched and dazzlingly brilliant facade and architectural details stopped me dead in my tracks.

I am interested in the nature of things. The nature of something is quite different from the way it looks. ~ Duane Michals

hardscapes # 3 ~ maybe, maybe not

Danny's Diner - Binghamton, NY • click to embiggenNow that former college boy is a former college boy, the wife has remarked that she/we will have no reason to ever visit Binghamton again. Never say "never" ...

... because I really feel that I missed a wonderful place / opportunity to picture a "patina-ed" (to be kind) urban hardscape. Although, just outside of the southern side of the Adirondacks is the equally "patina-ed" similar-sized city of Utica. Although, once you're in Utica, it's only another 90 minutes or so to Binghamton. Although, as the saying goes, "in for a penny, in for a pound", so if I'm going to do it, why not do both cities?

hardscapes # 2 ~ everybody must get stoned

Cobblestone building - somewhere along Rt. 5 & 20, Central NYS • click to embiggenWhen we got off the interstate highway this past Sunday, the wife & I headed for Rt. 5 & 20 which was, pre-interstate, the major east-west highway in NYS. As mentioned, the wife and I just wanted to slow down, relax, and see what we could see.

One of the things I was hoping to see was cobblestone structures - houses, mills, stores, et al. There are cobblestone structures in NYS than anywhere else on the planet and a ride across Rt. 5 & 20 cuts right through the heart of cobblestone country. It is estimated that 95% of all cobblestone structures ever built (about 700 of them) were built in NYS, primarily in central and western NY.

Cobblestones where everywhere in this region (glacial deposits) and the early farmers, after clearing them from their fields, started to use them as cheap (as in, free) building material. Although, one might think that the cost of labor by specialized cobblestone masons might have raised the total cost of a building above that of a conventional wood-frame building. However, on the plus side, was the fact that a cobblestone building was quite a bit more fireproof than a wood-frame one.

The sign on the building pictured here reads ...

WAGONS•HARNESS•BLACKSMITH•HORSES SHOD
EST 1844 LOCHLIEN McQUIEN PROP

... which means that this cobblestone structure was built in the middle years of the cobblestone building era which spanned the years 1825 - 1860. It is now an antique shop.