Revisiting is project about nostalgia, home and, perhaps, sentimentality. Places have a way of ingraining themselves with what has been lived there. Ford's Theatre is an example. So is the place where John Lennon was shot. And, of course, there are the thousands of personal spaces, like the house we grew up in, the places we've fallen in love, and our first apartments.
I'm obsessed with my past, and found myself taking pictures in Chicago of places that reminded me of home. I took pictures of parking lots, playscapes, alleys, yards, whatever reminded took me back to Austin, because I missed it so bad.
And then I came to Austin and took pictures there. I revisited places that were important to me for one reason or another, and took a picture there.
In every place, in Austin and Chicago, I've returned with a print of the photo and left it behind for whoever might come across it. I also left a note for them, letting them know that the photo is part of an art project, and that they could keep it. I also explained why I took the picture - why the place in the photo - the place they're standing, is important to me. I want to call attention to the significance of the places; to the fact that their importance goes beyond whatever happens to be going on there now. The history of each location goes far back, and then it'll go forward. All of these places are important to people. They're important to me.
If you've found a photo and been directed here, thanks for being part of the project. If not, keep an eye open.
The project is ongoing. I will add photos as I make them.
-Sam Ramos-
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| I lived in this apartment for four years during a defining period in my life. Now someone else lives there. South First Street, Austin, 12/10/09 |
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| This is my favorite coffee shop in Austin. It's strange to me that I could visit it so consistently for so many years while my life was turned upside down two or three different times. South First Street, Austin, 12/10/09 |
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| I had my first real job in this place. More significantly, I fell in love twice, had my heart broken once, and I also became an adult (of a sort). The place is still there but I'm not. Sixth and Lamar, Austin, 12/10/09 |
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| I have a distinct memory of standing against this wall, behind a line of bushes that used to be bigger, hiding behing them, with another person, because the wind was fast and cold and we wanted to get out of it together. Sixth and Lamar, Austin, 12/10/09 |
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| I had some of my worst moments here, to say the least. Lots of bad memories. Now I couldn't get back in if I wanted to. I'm kept out. The gate is closed. But I'm stil inside. Strange. South Lamar, Austin, 12/10/09 |
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| This bridge goes over a creek in my neighborhood. I used to play there. The graffiti was still there but it belonged to someone else. I don't like the graffiti, but I guess it belongs to me too. Dove Springs, Austin, 12/10/09 |
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| Another specific sad memory. I don't mind it. Sixth and Lamar, Austin, 12/10/09 |
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| A parking lot isn't the pretitest thing to most, and neither is it to myself. However, it does remind me of where I'm from. It's the landscape of home, and there's nothing wrong with that. Is it so inherenlty terrible to find dear the places I belong to and that belong to me? Country Club Hills, Chicago, 10/28/09 |
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| Is this field going to be built over by an extension of the shopping center behind me. Probably. I hope not, though. Even if it is, however, this field isn't so far isolated from the parking lot. It is a manmade landscape, no doubt, and yet I am comforted by it as it is. Were it paved it would maintain its space, even if its color was diminished. I regret the expanding human population. But I have to embrace what it leaves behind and what it makes if I'm to survive it. Country Club Hills, Chicago, 10/28/09 |
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| I used to go to Sonic when I was a kid. Yeah, I know, it's just a Sonic. But there are very few of them in Chicago. I had to drive an hour to find this one. It was totally worth it. I had a footlong chili dog and tater tots. Country Club Hills, Chicago, 10/28/09 |
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A few days after dropping off this photo, I was forwarded an email with the following message:
"Much to my surprise, as I drove up
to the building this morning, I noticed something on one of our exit
doors. Upon investigating, I discovered the attached photo, and message
on the back of the photo.
With the last 6 weeks or so being a
little trying here, this was a wonderful motivator for myself, and hopefully my
team. In our fast paced world where few people slow down and notice the
simple beauty of things, this was a stark reminder. We tend to forget the
grandeur, the glory, and the charm that our structures bring to the public
regardless of the movies on the screen.
The anonymous photographer left a website to see the posted photo, and make
comments. I addressed this message to several different departments with
the thought that it should have something from our wonderful home office team
who are better at this than myself. Please advise if you have additional
questions, or if I should just take it for what it?s worth, and be happy
that it made my day." Country Club Hills, Chicago, 10/28/09
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| When I took this picture originally there was a big red truck in the lot beyond. Now the truck's gone, but I almost like the lot more without it. It's more lonely and more peaceful. That's why I took the photo. While I was still standing in the area a cop drove up and asked what I was doing. I explained and let him keep the photo I placed here as well as the Chicagoland Outlets photo above. He seemed appreciative. He worried that he might be messing up the project. He did the opposite. By taking the photos he was seeing the project to its conclusion, and I appreciate his enthusiasm. Chicago, Country Club Hills, 10/28/09 |
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| I took this photo because the open yards remind me of home. The green space and chain link fences, as well as the shrubbery, are a welcome break from the cluttered pavement of the city. Near Dempster Ave., Chicago, 10/09 |
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| This mailbox is situated next to a small church parking lot surrounded by green trees. Again, open space is hard to come by in a city, and even a parking lot in a quiet neighborhood can be serene when everything around is noise and friction. Near Dempster Ave., Chicago, 10/09 |
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| This is a gravel alley between a small playground and a row of houses. The gravel, even manufactured, suggests the give of a natural path, and its being a border between the playscape and the residences makes it all the more of a draw for me. Near Dempster Ave., Chicago, 10/09 |
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| The home, in almost any circumstance, is a place of memory and growth. Does it matter that one house looks much like the next? I'd reckon not, because they are entirely separate, and connected only in the sense that they are human, and they are a community together. Wilmette, 10/09 |
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