Life's Persistent Questions

May 3, Wrong side of the tracks.

During my trip from New York to Montreal, I sat in front of an elderly couple back from their annual trip to New York. The wife asked a question, “why do we always see run-down neighborhoods on the train?” The answer was obvious, who wants to live close to the train track, with its noises, rattles and perhaps in the old days, train-hopping hobos. It is true that besides farms and wilderness, the most frequent sights from the train include factories, power lines, truck yards, junk yards, graves, trailer parks and back yards of run-down houses. These images fascinate me, but until now I did not fully understand why. It was the same draw that led my uncle and his friends to photograph the old, soon-to-be-demolished parts of downtown Shanghai. All of the dilapidated homes and buildings were once new. They were once beautiful. Someone saw that factory raised from nothing but concrete and steel and the hope of something big. Someone built that tool shed and dreamt of weekends spent inside it with his childhood hobbies. Someone hanged that old tire to the oak in the back yard picturing endless summers spent with children he will have years later. All of them were loved and treasured by someone. We photograph them now because we see the passage of time on the physical and imagine the effect on people’s lives. What did the factory make and where did the products go? Do people still work there or have the job gone somewhere else? When did the owner stop painting the shed? Is the inside empty or still full of half finished hobbies? How many children did they have? Do they have children of their own now? Is this not the same reason some of us go to museums or collect antiques? The only things that I can think of that are made to look old and used are fake antiques and distressed fashion apparels, both of which I despise.

posted by hedgehog @ 5:51 PM