Baking Mixes brings to mind recipes. The recipe for this photo comes via Lee Friedlander. That is: organize a large amount of information in a dynamic composition. Friedlander is a master of this approach. For documentary photography, it seems the more information, the better. It tells us a lot about the culture and society of a specific time and place. I shall keep on photographing the social landscape with a few different recipes, and hopefully learn some new ones before I’m done.
Parade in West Toronto Junction, 1983, featuring the Malta Band Club. The area still has a significant Maltese population.
This scene reminded me of a sign I saw as a child at a restaurant beside a gas station. It read: Eat and Get Gas. I found the double meaning quite amusing and never forgot seeing it. Some fifty years later I saw an opportunity to illustrate that sign.
I plan on spending more time on my blog and will be posting a photo every day–recent photos like this one, taken yesterday, and also older images from my archives. And if you haven’t done do already, please subscribe to the Image Journey. Cheers!
The road goes on forever.
I’ve always been interested in what I think of as “surrealism in everyday life.” (My “Wish You Were Here” series has dealt with this in the past.) Two years ago, I visited Belgium for the first time. My family stayed in Walonia, the francophone southern region, in Liège. We also visited Brussels and took in the wonderful Magritte Museum.
My impression of the country was that Rene Magritte’s surrealist perspective was somehow typical of Belgium. I only spent a week there, but everyday, and literally everywhere, I saw details that screamed surrealism. As Magritte said, “Everyday objects shriek aloud.” There was so much photographic potential for juxtaposition; ambiguity, fantasy, and humour.
Rosetti Rivera writes in Belgium Express: “Belgian surrealism does not only show itself in bold and garish ways. More often than not, it hides within the subtleties of everyday life. If you don’t look hard enough, you may easily overlook those quiet expressions of delightful absurdity that could add a ton of humor and spice to your day.” She recommends paying attention to the architectural mismash, lamp posts, sidewalks, and windows.
I’m hoping to go back to Belgium and explore more of this fascinating and culturally rich country, and “be on the lookout for what has never been.”
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