I love urban settings. I have a love for buildings and architecture, too. Maybe that goes back to my days working with architects and designers among the architectural gems of Chicago. And I've always seen beauty in ruins. Maybe that goes back to my love of Greek history and my summer of archeology in Israel. Ancient ruins are obviously beautiful. But so are modern ruins. Over and over I've found myself stopping and turning around when I see abandoned, neglected or ruined urban buildings. I run back to them with my camera and snap pics. I can't explain why.
Last week, I passed a factory that was being torn down. I probably have passed this factory a couple thousand times in my life. It was always old-school and fascinating to me - I think they made aluminum cans there... But last week, I turned the car around, parked in a local parking lot at a nearby business park and walked a block back to get these pics. I don't know why, but I needed to capture this beautiful destruction.
Maybe it's the job of an artist to see these things. Maybe it's weird to look at something being destroyed and to see beauty in it. Maybe it's just me, looking for things that are beautiful in the ashes. It's not solely related to my recent adventures. Don't we all wonder what things look like at their core?
