Accidental Art

Daniel F. Ambia

Art and Society

04/07/2014

 

The first photograph I took while waiting for the subway at the Canal Street N/R/Q station. I call it "Tower of Power". The first thing that struck me about the train tracks at Canal Street was how disgusting they were. I began to wonder how people could nonchalantly toss their garbage onto the tracks. Then I noticed these three empty drink containers had sort of bonded together. At first it resembled a mathematical symbol. The negative space of the photograph is the murky brown water of the tracks. I gave the photograph the title because the top bottle is an energy drink followed by water and soda, pretty common beverages that people drink to give them energy or "power". This photograph would be a representational piece because the bottles are clearly visible although their location might be open to interpretation. I was hoping to manipulate the photograph to look more like a sculpture but the train was coming so I had to take it quickly.

 

The second photograph I entitled "Ray of Light". I took it on Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn while I was heckling with some medical personnel for a record. I thought it was aesthetically pleasing how the concrete breaks where it's holding the soil and out of the break appears a random yellow line. It reminded me of the power of the Earth spilling over a manmade wall, taking over the space that at a time it had owned. Nature is in a constant struggle with the forces of man to reclaim hallowed ground which is the Earth we live on. The texture of the concrete is rough while the soil is soft. The photograph contains a series of straight lines that are broken only as the concrete crumbles. I've been noticing accidental art more and more these days and I blame this class entirely.

 

Dan