What would a river clean-up be without discarded automotive tires? They seem as ubiquitous as the driftwood in the water. You get so used to seeing them that in effect…you don’t see them anymore.
That’s where having a camera can be of assistance…it breaks that circuit that prevents us from remembering that these objects should never find a home here.
Finding a floating circle in the water always grabs my attention. It’s no longer just a tire, but the pattern of perfection, the symbol of civilization.
How did we become so indifferent towards them? Isn’t the wheel the same great device it was when it was first invented? It was once a big deal…is it no less marvelous and worthy of being disposed of properly?
One of the nice things about being a parent of young children is that you can remember some of the wonder of the world through their experiences.
I guess that’s also what makes photography so effective a medium…it gives the viewer an opportunity in a split second, to experience vicariously, what the photographer saw.
I worry as a parent that we won’t leave this place in as good a shape as we found it. It’s become a vicious cycle that needs fixing.
I don’t know if “art” can be the tool to make the repair? But if we can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, which art can do, we might just recapture some of the lost wonder in the world.
Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog 