Blog : Foto Friday - Vigevano Italy

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7/22/2011 10:37 am

Foto Friday - Vigevano Italy

This is a photograph that I made a couple of years ago in Vigevano, Italy.

I am not sure the original use of the abandoned building that contained this doorway. In fact abandoned buildings in Italy are relatively rare compared to the number that we find here in the U.S. More common are the buildings that continue a useful life for hundreds of years. The older buildings are remodeled and updated.

It is common to see buildings built in rather initially expensive ways. For instance roof guttering and valley flashing is usually of pure copper. Fences are often made of stainless steel. This contrasts with our use of aluminum and galvanized steel. When one recognizes that these buildings are built for centuries, the use of the expensive and longer lasting materials make economic sense.

The Italian departure from our "throw away" society is rather refreshing.

I like this photograph for the strong vertical elements and the three levels of depth present in the image. For me, in my photography, it is all about composition and rather than a purely objective depiction of a "known thing or object" I prefer a departure into symbolism.

By considering symbolic meaning, a "thing" can be both a "thing" and something more than a "thing". In this photograph (by way of explanation), the doorway can be both a doorway and also a symbolic depiction of an opportunity that awaits. The second level of depth (the interior) is relatively dark and can symbolically depict that often we are not fully aware of our present circumstances. The third level of depth (the distant opening) can be both an opening and also the symbolic depiction that there are numerous points of transition in the experience of our lives. This use of symbolism is consistent with the photography of Edward Weston and several others.

I believe that when we delve deeper into the use of photography as a means of expression we take it from a tool of pure illustration into the realm of artistic expression.