architecture « Portraits of Place

05/11/2010

Fig Tree

Filed under: architecture,berkshires,Hoosac Tunnel — shaunoboyle @ 9:21 pm

A new loosely defined project. Photograph the architecture, and whatever else is interesting, along a corridor defined by an old rail line. The idea is that the rail line was the seed that many of these towns and industries sprang from. So it is the root of these communtities, even though that rail line has all but ceased to exist.
An analogy that comes to mind is a strangler fig tree, which grows around a host tree. Eventually the host tree dies and decays and disappears, leaving a massive fig tree with a hollow interior the shape of the host tree. This project is all about shooting that fig tree, the interior and exterior.

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05/09/2010

Cocktails and Bowling

Filed under: architecture,berkshires,curiosities,ruins — shaunoboyle @ 2:22 pm

cocktails and bowling

Does it get any better than cocktails and bowling?

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05/05/2010

Pittsfield, MA

Filed under: architecture,berkshires,industrial,ruins — Tags: architecture, industrial, ma, pittsfield — shaunoboyle @ 9:48 pm

Night photographs of this post-industrial city near where I grew up. I shot these in 2002-2003 with a hand held 3-megapixel point & shoot camera. I like the sketchy nature of the images, almost like drawings. I’m interested in the old neighborhoods near the industrial area, in the true heart of the city. More from this series linked here.

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05/04/2010

05/01/2010

It Means So Much to Keep in Touch

Filed under: architecture,objects,ruins — Tags: operator, switch board, telephone — shaunoboyle @ 6:00 pm

Telephone Directory

Old things interest me, they are evocative, they have a rich visual language. Most of my work is about old things – buildings, objects, even landscapes. Why give so much attention to old things? It is what interests me, I’m drawn to it. Even after photographing this subject for over 20 years, I still find it interesting. It is a combined interest in archaeology, local history and the visual pleasure of aged surfaces. Memory plays an important role in this work. Also just being curious about my surrounding and what I see – wanting to connect the dots. Objects, and even buildings, seen as artifacts, are much different than having experienced them when they were in use. When function leaves these things, they become something different. Symbols, representative of something else, evoking another time and reality. They are rich, these old places and things, visually, historically. They are curiosities.

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04/30/2010

Inelegant neglected roadside architecture – my favorite

Filed under: architecture — Tags: architecture, buildings, ugly — shaunoboyle @ 10:26 pm

Ugly Roadside Architecture

I enjoy ugly buildings. What constitutes interesting architecture anyway? Noble proportions, interesting detail, grand scale? I find that often it is the simplest buildings, the most basic delapitated structures that I am attracted to. It is a catagory I would call ineligant neglected roadside architecture. These buildings are a product of their local culture and economy. It’s not organic architecture, because often the structures are pre-fab metal buildings. But they fit a need, they do the job. They have character because of their state of neglect. They have become normalized to their environment, modified in some way to make them unique. I’m not a fan of standard pre-fab structures – unless they have these differences. An essential ingredient is character, mood, tone. They radiate their influence over their environment, set the tone for the neighborhood. Ugly architecture is ok, even good. It’s honest. And there is plenty of it, take a drive down the commercial strip heading out of town, until it thins out a bit, the rents start to drop, and this is where things start to get interesting. Give it a try, take a drive, let me know what you think.

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