Tag Archives: urban exploration
Abstract Quote #251
Urban exploration
“There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality.”
PABLO PICASSO
Walking downtown Harrisburg I noticed this statue. The abstract nature of the contemporary art caught my attention. Liked the contrast between the convoluted reflections of the statue and the straight lines of the background buildings. It symbolises to me the urban isolation and loneliness of millions of people.
Chicago Quote #226
The Bean
“New York is one of the capitals of the world and Los Angeles is a constellation of plastic, San Francisco is a lady, Boston has become Urban Renewal, Philadelphia and Baltimore and Washington wink like dull diamonds in the smog of Eastern Megalopolis, and New Orleans is unremarkable past the French Quarter. Detroit is a one-trade town, Pittsburgh has lost its golden triangle, St. Louis has become the golden arch of the corporation, and nights in Kansas City close early. The oil depletion allowance makes Houston and Dallas naught but checkerboards for this sort of game. But Chicago is a great American city. Perhaps it is the last of the great American cities.”
NORMAN MAILER
The Bean (Cloud Gate), Sir Anish Kapoor’s public outdoor work, is an iconic landmark in Chicago. It is a favorite tourist attraction. It represents a modern city looking into the future. The distortion, the metallic reflection and the B&W conversion with the tiny diminutive human figures in the foreground of the vast oppressing buildings convey the sense of futuristic urbanisation. In addition, it is a great substitute for a pretty wide angle lens! 🙂
New York Geometry Aphorism #70 NYC/7
“At night…the streets become rhythmical perspectives of glowing dotted lines…”
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
It is amazing and dizzying looking down from the Empire State Building at night and seeing that geometric net of shimmering lights…an experience you never will forget!
New York Geometric Heights Aphorism #68 NYC/5
“New York…is a city of geometric heights, a petrified desert of grids and lattices, an inferno of greenish abstraction under a flat sky, a real Metropolis from which man is absent by his very accumulation.”
ROLAND BARTHES
Well, looking up to these towering, giant, colossal steel and glass buildings certainly you might feel like a lost soul in the desert. A desperately lonely human being in the middle of the busy crowd…
New York Concrete Jungle Aphorism #66 NYC/3
“Concrete jungle where dreams are made, oh, there’s nothing you can’t do, now you’re in New York.”
JAY-Z
Well, whatever you call it, I have serious doubts about what sort of dreams are made in these monster buildings. I suspect human isolation here. You can be desperately lonely here. Something looks to be utterly inhuman here. Working a 9-to-5 job could be devastating here. This is urban isolation. This is also New York.
So, what do you think?
New York Vitality Aphorism #65 NYC/2
“New York has a trip-hammer vitality which drives you insane with restlessness if you have no inner stabilizer.”
HENRY MILLER
Second capture in a series of urban exploration of NYC. I guess the city looks better at night when you don’t see the grey concrete, the muted, dull colors and the dirt all over. The neon light provides an artificial glitter. Still, NYC is vibrating, pulsating and is very much alive. This is the city of extremes after all.
New York Air Aphorism #64 NYC/1
“There is something in the New York air that makes sleep useless.”
SIMON DE BEAUVOIR
Hi Everyone,
I am launching a series of my photographs about the way I see NYC. Will contribute a new shot every week or so to this upcoming portfolio. Start with more conventional captures and then venture to be a little different. Spent a couple of days to celebrate my brother-in-law in the city in 2011 and nearly suffered a visual overload. You simply cannot exhaust the possibilities to find something unique in the Big Apple. As I did in the past, I try to connect each shot with a quote.
Be my judge. Invite you for a journey. Your comments or remarks are welcome.
Cheers,
Robert
ROBERT PHOTOS 