Images of a Vanishing America
Photographer Brian Vanden Brink's Views of the Past and Present
By James H. Schwartz | Online Only | Aug. 10, 2009
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Acclaimed photographer Brian Vanden Brink has shot some of the the finest architecture in the U.S.—everything from camera-ready beachfront homes in California, to classic coastal cottages in New England. But few places moved him as much as the historic structures he chronicled in his latest book Ruin: Photographs of a Vanishing America. ($65, Down East books, www.downeast.com.)
"The photographs were done over a period of thirty years," Vanden Brink writes. "For the most part, I came across them on the road to or from an assignment, and I shot them simply because I found them interesting ... These places are an important part of my personal work and building this body of images has been a labor of love."
From the crumbling manse he discovered in a farm field in Maryland, to the romantic ruins of a plantation in western Mississippi, to the heart-breaking farmsteads he found sinking into the soil of his beloved Maine, Vanden Brink's images offer a cautionary tale: "Pay attention," his photographs seem to say, "or still more will be lost—forever."
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Comments
Submitted by A fighter for preservation in Florida at: October 27, 2009
PLEASE don't take such a resigned attitude...if we can in some small way affect preservation in South Florida, the home of mega bull dozers, lawyers and developers, anyone can do it. We frequently have to do it one property at a time and not get defeated easily. When there is a defeat it just has to pump you up to keep trying! Believe me, ardent preservationists are not always popular ( the understatement of the year), but when someone stops me in the grocery and says thank you it makes it all worthwhile.
Submitted by shadyb at: October 7, 2009
The fact is that most gov agencies do not support saving & rehabbing these buildings unless you are part of a historic trust. The average joe trying to save and old structure is on their own 100 %
Submitted by Nancy at: October 6, 2009
The "almost gone" farm buildings are especially lonely to my eye. The problem of vanishing family farms is a critical mainstay of our economy and people just don't get it. Beautiful pictures!
Submitted by Patrick at: October 6, 2009
Very nice work..... Though it is almost certain these place will be gone, sooner than they should be, images and words do help make these places more complete, more lasting... thanks
Submitted by Becky at: October 6, 2009
The pictures in this book are very poetic and beautiful. Any chance that a portion of the profits are going to preservation-related efforts?
Submitted by Pat at: September 1, 2009
Great book. I love it when people take the time to photograph old buildings. They have such historic value and some people just don't take the time to notice until it is to late.