THESE CRACKS
Created for 2019's "WE THE CITY" Architecture + the City festival by American Institute of Architects, San Francisco CA.
This series of photographs and collaged images both document the changing architectural landscape of San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood and honor the area’s rich history. I photographed different parts of the Dogpatch throughout 2013 and 2014 as I was drawn to the poetic qualities of the industrial architecture and the state of partial dilapidation and functionality. The signs of deterioration (broken windows, abandoned equipment, graffiti, etc.) felt flush with the remnants of a cultural relationship to the location. They spoke of stories unknown and experiences of value. What was previously warehouses and factories became artist studios and creative depots, which then turned to upscale lofts and start-up offices. I overlapped works to recognize the transformation that has occurred since my earlier photographs, comparing images taken in 2019 to those of my earlier Dogpatch works. This series comments on the experience of loss and memory.
I felt inspired by a line of poetry by Emma Rosenbaum:
In these cracks I see the beautiful truth
that we can never really lose anything.
I reference this in the title. I wanted to explore San Francisco’s transformation and erasure as a concept.
This series of photographs and collaged images both document the changing architectural landscape of San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood and honor the area’s rich history. I photographed different parts of the Dogpatch throughout 2013 and 2014 as I was drawn to the poetic qualities of the industrial architecture and the state of partial dilapidation and functionality. The signs of deterioration (broken windows, abandoned equipment, graffiti, etc.) felt flush with the remnants of a cultural relationship to the location. They spoke of stories unknown and experiences of value. What was previously warehouses and factories became artist studios and creative depots, which then turned to upscale lofts and start-up offices. I overlapped works to recognize the transformation that has occurred since my earlier photographs, comparing images taken in 2019 to those of my earlier Dogpatch works. This series comments on the experience of loss and memory.
I felt inspired by a line of poetry by Emma Rosenbaum:
In these cracks I see the beautiful truth
that we can never really lose anything.
I reference this in the title. I wanted to explore San Francisco’s transformation and erasure as a concept.
Dogpatch: These Cracks 1-3 series 2014, Restored in 2019
Inset: Hand painted over emulsion lift on Arches Watercolor paper
Frame: Archival fine art prints
Inset: 8.5”x9” | Frame: 18”x24” | edition 1/1
Inset: Hand painted over emulsion lift on Arches Watercolor paper
Frame: Archival fine art prints
Inset: 8.5”x9” | Frame: 18”x24” | edition 1/1
These Cracks 4-6 series 2014, Demolished in 2019
Hand painted over emulsion lift on Arches Watercolor paper
15”x15” | Frame: 20”x20” | edition 1/1
Hand painted over emulsion lift on Arches Watercolor paper
15”x15” | Frame: 20”x20” | edition 1/1