Dark Stores
Posted by David Darlington on 2 September 2009 | 4 responses
Brian Ulrich’s photographs of deceased retail outlets are pretty cool. (hat tip to Primer)
4 Responses to “Dark Stores”
Cool…as in good photography, is that your meaning? Seeing those photos, what I think of first is all the wasted building materials, sprawl and related problems that are represented by large empty buildings. Second, I think of all the jobs lost. Third, I think about what other economic hardships are going on in the surrounding community. Then, I might think about the photographs themselves. Even if they are technically well-done, I doubt I would have termed them cool, though. Why did you?
Because I like skilled photography.
Suddenly I feel inclined to hum the chorus to Schadenfreude.
David, you don’t have to back down from that challenge by Mary. Decay IS cool. It is haunting, familiar, and reminds us both of what we can be and what we leave behind when we move on. That is certainly cool. It is cool like Dinosaur Jr. is cool; like Steve Buscemi. It’s not particularly pretty, nor is is something you show off to mommy. But is is heart-wrenching and full of ethos and pathos, which definitely is cool.