Friday afternoon after our meal at Beef Burger, Matt and I took a stroll down the tracks between Oakland avenue and Lee street. We came across countless "artifacts" ranging from rail road spikes and various metal parts to items that hobos had left behind on their journeys on the track. We couldn't carry all of the stuff we found so we piled it up on the Oakland side next to the fence so we could come back and drag it under afterwards. I'm not quite sure what we'll do with this stuff but I'm sure something will come to mind. The three tallest landmarks on this edge of campus are visible from Lee street: the stack from the physical plant, the telecommunications tower, and the water tower.
We found what appeared to be an abandoned rail road track on the Lee street side. Trees and bushes had grown up around the rails, hiding it from view unless you got within close proximity. The rails also appear to be a different style then the ones currently used. 
We were passed by a few trains during our field trip and I must say that they can be pretty quiet. I always thought they were loud but one time I didn't even know a train was coming until I looked up from inspecting a rail road spike. It was still a couple hundred yards away and there was plenty of time to move but the thought of being killed by a train passed through my mind a few times on this trip (how embarrassing would that be). The first train was traveling much slower but sounded louder (the conductor blew his horn and waved at us). The second was traveling much faster (30-40 mph?) but seemed to sneak up on us. I wonder why that is...
I've always been a fan of train car graffiti. I think its a wonderful form of communication (artists getting an audience in other cities and states) and art. The tags vary in size and detail. Some of the tags I've photographed seem like they would have taken hours to create. Although the thought of breaking into a train yard at night (or day I guess) and tagging a car seems pretty exciting, I don't really like it enough to chance having a felony on my record. Maybe if I say its a studio project they will let me off the hook. Until then I'll leave it to the professionals. 
We came across a lot of airplane bottles, bum wine bottles, interesting pieces of wood, and animal bones. We've got samples up in the studio of everything we came across. 
We crossed paths with a traveler (man in the yellow jacket). He had some rather friendly words for us but I'm not sure they are appropriate in this forum. Ask if you want to know, it was funny.
The artifacts we acquired represent this "no man's land" in between Oakland avenue and Lee street. Everything there seems discarded and forgotten.
1 comment:
I'm not sure how many comments I am supposed to leave but your pictures are great. I feel like they capture the essence of what it means to be an "abandoned artifact", if that makes sense!
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