Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Hittin the major spots


I lived here for 2 years about 10 years ago and I never visited these places. Here I am now as a tourist and so it is required. It makes me think, perhaps, that I should have gone before. And when I get back to Chicago I'll be visiting the touristy places I normally avoid.

But again...why? How do places become places for tourists to visit? Like the spots of wilderness we seek out, these places are concentrated spots of attention where we marvel at ourselves. And there I am, trying to take beautiful photos like a million people before me. The reality of the situation fades, and a composed reality sets in, as if, perhaps, just possibly I too suffer from a need to control the environment.

more pics here

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, you are an artist, so perhaps you naturally engage with these things better by interpreting and manipulating them in some way...

Andrew H said...

ahh...the artist's role is interpreter? To boldly go forth and see and experience, then return with a viewpoint. Hmmm, not sure about that. For instance, much of art seems to hide the artist's own interpretation, leaving it open to the viewer.

I can almost see my role to be that of "arranger," or one who frames images in such a way as to emphasize a certain viewpoint. This I can see as interpretation, I suppose.

But more about the tourist. The tourist visits pre-arranged beauty and wilderness. And most often they are not critical of what they see. I want to be aware of this in myself.