The Beat #38: Decay
The Beat Creative Director and illustrator, Greg Chinn of The Local Brand Co.
This week, our friend photographer and designer Karl Heine gives us another look through his perceptive lens with photos of spaces in decay. These glimpses of abandoned buildings in Connecticut, Florida and New York conjure complicated emotions — melancholy, joy, curiosity… Take a look, and see where they take you.
Vines of Blue
Abandoned RC Cola Factory, Wynwood, Miami, FL
Karl has been photographing this environment over a 12-year period, and it has evolved many times, including an international crowd of graffiti artists and local talent known for their elaborate lettering and freestyle murals. Today, it’s known as an urban arts complex.
Emergency Shower
Abandoned Remington Arms Factory, Bridgeport, CT
The enamel metal sign only tells part of the story. This Remington factory produced consumer products, small appliances, firearms, weapons and explosives over its lifespan from the 1860s to 1987. Remington then moved production to Arkansas.
Graffiti Walls
Here, Karl gives us another view of the graffiti space in Miami. A tree grows in a doorway, its roots decorated by passing artists. Nature reclaims human space, humans linger, but give nature its space.
Weathered Door
Abandoned Shed, Hudson, NY
Made increasingly artful by time, this weathered door gives us the elements of a good mystery. Rather than a name or street number on a door, we’re given a phone number. Do we call for entry, rather than knocking? It’s like the setup for a Haruki Murakami story. The peel-and-stick numbers, in alternating black and white, take on an Alice in Wonderland quality, and we wouldn’t recommend touching the exposed wires … just in case.
