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Continue the MEMPHIS Thread of Photos
So there are a lot of unique and interesting buildings in Memphis. My perspective seems more about the erosion and urban collapse of the structures rather than a view of the architecture. I have attempted to catch some of the metropolitan decay, but I really have not come up with a way to get the photo that I want.
This photo is of the building at the corner of Danny Thomas and Georgia in downtown Memphis. I don't know what it was originally but it was built in 1918 and has an assessed value of $60k.
The thing I like is the viewpoint. I used a wide-angle lens and I corrected the sides in Lightroom to show a solid vertical side. I looked at the surrounding area to see if I had “over-corrected” the vertical sides of the building. But when you look closely, you can tell the telephone pole in the background is leaning over. The stop sign looks plumb, and the building matches. I believe I made a good correction for the lens, but I can't fix the chaos that Memphis naturally creates.
As a matter of fact, it begins to look surreal. The other telephone poles are at angles to each other and the lines of the building seem to me to be too "square." As I look closer, I don't seem to have a reference point anymore. The street signs, Georgia and Thomas, are both visible and don't seem to be perpendicular to each other. Just a few feet away is the ally behind the building and it's street sign does not seem in the same plane as Georgia and Thomas.
I look at the building and am really impressed by the brickwork of the second floor. The dark brick and mosaic is really superior. Oddly, the first floor looks very monochrome and not finished to the same mastery as the second level. Obviously, there is a lot that is not original on that building now, but it makes me curious why the brickwork ended up the way it did.
I laughed to myself when I was editing the photo. "Why," I thought, "am I trying to make the brick walls seem square when the wires and poles just destroy the illusion?"
My great grandfather (Photo taken by my father) always carried a square with him. Later in life, he kept it in his Big Smith overalls (He had a home in Carthage Missouri where they are made). I am impressed by a man that felt that an essential quality of the world was that it was square. It is hard to imagine a time when my grandfather was so involved with building, repairing and creating the world around him that he found a daily use for a square.
I know I live in a different world now. I don't walk down the street with the possible expertise to fix anything that I pass. I used that square to build a screen porch behind my home and I am very pleased by my result. But I can see by the gaps in the wood and irregular fasteners that I do not have skill that my grandfather had. I don't have the control or knowledge that he must have had over the things around him. He also was great with people and played the banjo.
When I look at the urban decomposition I can't help but think about the difference between my great grandfather and I. I didn't build those buildings, I did not ravage them either; but, I cannot repair them. My grandfather didn't build those buildings, but he did build his home and workshop. I am sure that he could repair the cars and homes and buildings that he passed by in his neighborhood when he was my age. I can't help but think that I am somewhat responsible for the deterioration of the world because I do not have the skills that my great grandfather had to build it.
I present this photo as a start. I do wish to capture the decomposition of the city, I want to find the unique rebuilding and developing quintessence of Memphis.
This photo was made with my 15mm Voigtländer.
Photo by Tim Wheat.
