www.marktucker.wordpress.com

Hello again! I thought Mark's post was relevant- going back to Peter's suggestion that I photograph buildings from indoors. Although I am not taking this approach for my current project, this is a nice example of what some of the imagery might look like. My project is more of an exploration of why the properties have closed and why they have not been bought again and repurposed. In order to best answer those questions it helps both photographer and viewer to see the exteriors just as potential buyers would first see the properties. 


Mark Tucker has a very insightful blog- check it out!

ANOTHER DEAD CAR DEALERSHIP

Posted in Personal, The South by marktucker on February 7, 2010

Another one bites the dust. I shot this one early this morning. The Lincoln-Mercury dealership on 8th Avenue South, in my old neighborhood. I go way back with this one — i used to come here with my father, when I was a little kid. The signs on the doors of these places are always upbeat — they always say “we’ve moved!”, or consolidated with another location, but we all know the real truth.

I actually tried to buy a car at this place about two years ago. This dealership was one of the real old-timer mentalities; I was greeted by this awesome salesman, dressed in an orange three-piece suit, with matching tie, and a fedora atop his head, complete with feather.

I’m not sure why I keep shooting these pictures; they’re all starting to look alike. But my father used to trade cars all the time, when I was little, so he’d drag me around to these dealerships. I don’t even care about these pictures, as pictures; they’re just empty rooms with bad drop-ceilings. I think I just go there to pay my respects, like you go to Funeral Homes, when someone dies.

conditions

There were several valid comments and suggestions people brought up in class last week. Philip had a great comment about the importance of the condition the closed property is in. One reason businesses might be hesitant to purchase property would be the cost it would take to restore the buildings and/or land. The conditions of the property in my imagery aid to the understanding of the project as a whole. It is definitely something I will write about in my artist statement. 


Do you guys have any other questions or comments about the project? 

i love rainy days

Here are some of my favorite photographs from this week. 


The weekend was awesome- it rained entirely all day on Saturday and Sunday. No bringing out the Mark II for me! It is okay though- I shot a lot this week and this weekend will hopefully be sunny. 


I am noticing a trend of car dealerships and asian restaurants that are closed down...


Also, to clarify a change- I have expanded the project to so many areas that I am postponing the idea of creating the Google map website to a later time. The actual photographs are more important to me right now. 

Rowlett

635

commentary

I feel the need to clear up some issues that have been brought up regarding my project.
Peter suggested that I call the owners/real-estate agents of the buildings I am photographing so I can photograph from the inside-out. This would make a very valid, interesting project- and is something I may consider for the future. That being said, I have solid reasoning behind how I am photographing the project currently. If you are curious as to what those reasons are please refer to my proposal which is posted on this blog. The point of my project is awareness- and it is easy to be aware of buildings when you can identify them both within the photographs and in real life. If I photographed buildings from the inside it would not follow my ideas and my proposal...

Another comment on the project was how my imagery is similar to other photographer's work and doesn't feel original or 'my own.' I am an avid believer that to make great work, photographically or other, you must not only practice the art but be immersed in it: looking at photographer's work, reading books, studying history, etc. When a person practices these techniques their work quite possibly becomes a combination of many other artists they admire and study- but it also becomes their own. Using other photographer's ideas as a guideline for your work pushes you to make better imagery, as opposed to never looking at other work and being clueless and ignorant in the subject. So, I would say that the style of this project and others I am working on is unquestionably my own style- and has been for many years. I am sure my classmates and other professors will attest to that. 

Thanks for reading.

thoughts so far

The project is going well. I have been expanding the areas I'm photographing because I limited myself too much in the proposal. Guidelines are a good starting point but since this is a project I plan on continuing long term I am beginning to photograph in other areas including Greenville, McKinney and Allen. I haven't talked to anyone to confirm if the commercial properties I'm photographing are closed for economic reasons, but my bet is yes, they are. So far I haven't felt the buildings need to be composed exactly the same in each photograph, because in some cases the distance and angle of the buildings tell more about the place. I have been looking to Kirk Crippens for inspiration for a lot of my work- especially for the neighborhood project I am continuing. I am putting up photos of the buildings and some new neighborhood photographs, too. 

kirk crippens

Photographer Kirk Crippens project - Foreclosure, USA