Artist: Sze Tsung Leong

'Cities attain a state of beauty—however subjective, contested, or difficult to define—either as a result of a long, unplanned process of evolution, or by being constructed according to particular definitions of beauty. Unplanned beauty emerges out of an organic process of growth where a city or town reaches a state of aesthetic and structural harmony, not though any willful design, but through the slow accretions of time.'....

'There is another expression of beauty on an urban scale that has achieved particular dominance, because of the forcefulness necessary for its execution. Planned beauty, like its unplanned counterpart, conveys the idea of harmony. But, unlike its counterpart, it does not necessarily align with the natural. Instead, the aim is to reach an ordered harmony with ideologies, forms of power, or social structures. Beauty in this case is a tool defined and enlisted to convey beliefs, orders, and hierarchies. The scale of forces needed for this type of urban planning and design means, more often than not, that the definition of beauty rests with those with the power to construct it. Planned beauty, manifested at the size of the city, is imposed'

S.Tsung Leong. (2005) The Authority of beauty
http://www.szetsungleong.com/texts_authority.htm

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Some more shots

Here a few more shots from the latest 6 rolls. There are also a few re-shoots, to improve composition and sharpness.

Golden find

I was heading back to re shoot the bbq scene, when I found this buried car and truck. My brother and I found this when we were kids, however I forgot about it and just assumed it was removed/ recovered.

(iphone photos)

First four rolls

First four rolls of film, shot over Christmas between the two markers

Image from google earth

A few test shots

A few test shots from before Christmas.

Artists

There are several artists I have looked at during this module, so I should probably reference them.
This body of work is the "Walking the High Line" by Joel Sternfeld. The series is a collection of photographs taken during the course of a year. The High Line is a section of disused elevated train line in Manhattan, New York. The Line Lay in decay for several years and has now been transformed into a raised garden.

http://www.thehighline.org/about/maps

These are a fantastic set of images, shot on 10x8 they show the unseen in a highly populated area. Greenery within highly urban areas such as this is usually confined to planned parks where as these images offer a rare view. From the ground; an invisible space set against an urban backdrop.

http://www.thehighline.org/galleries/images/joel-sternfeld
All images are property of Joel Sternfeld.

Relating this to my project, I'm keen to look at the unseen within the seen. To view the space on the fringes of human habitation.

The link below is a video of Joel Sternfeld discussing the project. (no embed option so had to use the link)

http://www.americansuburbx.com/2011/09/asx-tv-joel-sternfeld-high-line-stories-2011.html

Moving forward

So my initial plan this year, was to return and attempt the project again in the same area, however I found my self aimlessly wandering around with a camera and losing focus again.

I had a bit of a realization during one of my other modules. The scenes that I was trying to depict were really run down and had a large level of redundancy to them. This is always going to make for very solitary, cold, and depressing scenes. Despite the looming renovations there was very little interaction with the space. This distance from human interaction means there is not anyway for the project to develop.. It is what it is.. an empty space.

As I made mention earlier I had a realization. That stemmed from two images I took on a field lecture.

Both of these images where taken on the boarders of a town (top one Cheltenham and bottom one Gloucester).

Top Image..
The thing that really struck me about this image was the many different elements that where present. Firstly the burned out car, shows on one level consumerism and the throw away culture and also the aspirational element.. I want that, I can't afford it.. I'll take yours. further more the fact its still there. The car has obviously been there a long time by the fact the grass has all grown back.
The field was once farmed and is now left. Evidence of economic downturn?
The hedge in the back ground making of land boundaries..

I could go on. Shortly after taking this image we engaged in conversation with a resident who's estate backed onto this field. She was upset at the idea of town planners building on the land.
This area is part of the green belt surrounding Cheltenham, Green Belt land is an interesting place, because people believe that they own a stake in it and that it must be protected and preserved when the reality is that its mostly waste land that serves only as good dog walking ground and prevention against urban sprawl.

This is the shift that my project is now going to undertake. instead of looking at an area that is personal to me. I am going to do a full circle walking around the outskirts of a town, right on the boarder of human habitation and photograph what lies in this buffer zone and how people interact with it.