Sometimes us cubicle monkeys don't have time to get out into the
concrete jungle to check out
street art for ourselves.
If you prefer moving pictures, check out the
great 2007 documentary on graffiti art, Bomb It. It's
online.
When you're done there, you can check out more great images at
Art Crimes and find images from your own corner of the urban sprawl at
CityNoise.
posted by Stagger Lee
on Nov 22, 2010 -
2 comments
The next morning I recalled a question the woman had asked me the night before: of the two ingredients of wabi-sabi, the Japanese aesthetic of impermanence, did I prefer wabi, the rusticity, simplicity, and irregularity of things in their created state, or sabi, the patina of age, the wear and tear that comes with constant use, the intimations of transience. I'm in the sabi camp: sabi as a concept is in all probability etymologically related to the verb sabiru, to rust, and for us lusters after rust, Yubari is sacred ground.
Spike Japan is the blog, or ongoing essay, of Richard Hendy, a long-time resident of Japan, about urban decay and population decline in Japan. The writing is digressive, knowledgable, opinionated, witty and engaging. The longest series is a
travelogue of Hokkaido, in which the
section on Yubari is the most stunning, though I also like
the tour of Kuril Islands' dispute tourist attractions. There's much to read on Spike Japan, but let me point you towards the melancholic
Requiem for a Railway, about Hendy's trip along an abandoned railway line.
posted by Kattullus
on Jul 18, 2010 -
20 comments
Virtual hacking is cool but place hacking makes it core again, brachiating across scaffolding to get the shot on your Digital SLR that maximizes your flickr stats, raking in the google adsense cash and conforming to a zerowork ethos if we get pro at it. Sleep in ruins, sell your photos of disgusting shit to tourists. Rinse off in a petrol station sink and repeat. We are the nerds that finally walked away from their computers and we are behind that scaffolding covering the building you ignore everyday when you walk by it going to work, we just loved on that place like no one has in 20 years. We are psychotopological terrorists and we will shove that masterlock up your ass.
A "reformed archaeologist" talks about
exploration of urban ruins. Modern urban ruins.
posted by Rumple
on Jan 21, 2010 -
72 comments
River County, Disney's first water park has been shut down since 2001 and permanently closed since 2005. It has not been dismantled. It was smaller than the two other (currently operating) water parks, and frequently much less crowded. In only a few years, relatively, weather,
growth and neglect have damaged the
slides and
pools, many of which are still full of
water.
The entire thread with many more pictures is
here [more inside]
posted by FritoKAL
on Dec 16, 2009 -
30 comments
Artificial Owl is a blog about about decommissioned/abandoned modern structures, from
beautiful shipwrecks to abandoned factories that look like they're straight out of a
Miyazaki movie. Each post even has the Google Maps location of the site, so you can plan your journey to your favorite site of modern decay.
posted by TheRoach
on May 16, 2009 -
24 comments
Last Days of the Old North (of England). A fascinating selection of photographs - mostly from the late sixties/early seventies documenting an era when it truly was grim up north. Made all the more interesting by the erudite and comprehensive commentary by the photographer.
posted by idiomatika
on Aug 26, 2008 -
36 comments
Discussion of the beauty and consequences of urban decay pops up here from time to time. In 1992
Lambert-St. Louis International Airport began its
expansion program. The airport's website has a
timeline and lots of
photos. Since the planning began, there has been a fair amount of controversy of
one form or
another surrounding the expansion. Despite all the shininess of their press releases, things are progressing very slowly. The people who have been impacted most, however, are the people who lived in the communities on top of which the expansion is happening. They have all been displaced.
[more inside]
posted by jeffamaphone
on Nov 21, 2007 -
11 comments
Action Squad – Urban Adventurers
"In a nutshell, Action Squad explores. This generally occurs late at night, to aid in avoiding other people, particularly those with badges and funny blue uniforms. We climb buildings, sneak into factories, crawl through all kinds of tunnels, spelunk old brewery caves, poke around abandoned buildings, and run across the rooftops."
Missions of the Action Squad are fully documented with descriptions, photographs (historical & intraoperative) and sometimes maps but always with a sense of wonder at the urban flotsam they enjoy exploring.
This is my particular favourite but poke around, there's a fair bit in this gem of a site worth exploring from the armchair.
[via]
posted by peacay
on May 24, 2005 -
27 comments
While reading up on the Detroit City Council's latest brainstorm,
African Town, I stumbled upon this
blog that highlights many of the once great, now decaying buildings of my former hometown. If you've ever wondered what was inside some of those ancient, boarded up buildings, there are some great photos here.
posted by Oriole Adams
on Sep 30, 2004 -
7 comments
Victorian Secrets of Washington, D.C.: haunting
photos and thoughtful
essays documenting one man's fight to draw attention to D.C.'s neglected architectural heritage: "This site won't be much of a beauty pagent because we 'll concentrate on buildings that are vacant, abandoned, deteriorated, distressed, or just plain at risk because they are standing in the path of development . . . if even one Victorian finds an angel because of our page, we'll consider it a thousand percent return on investment."
posted by ryanshepard
on Feb 14, 2003 -
13 comments
