Archive for May, 2011
A discarded wheelchair, one of the dozens moved into the sub-basement level tunnels sits under a broken piece of roof. I shot this as a thunderstorm rolled through, which was a wonderful experience. Someone clearly moved this wheelchair into the opportune lit area, rare in the maze of dark tunnels, but set up or not, I found the play of light wonderful.
Long Island Isolation – Boston, Massachusetts.
Photo of hand-painted lettering on a door in an old quarantine building, Staten Island, NY.
I spent part of my weekend out in Boston, shooting Long Island Isolation, an old quarantine hospital. The island is crisscrossed with a fascinating maze of semi-elevated tunnels. I’m still working on editing photos, but here’s several light-painted shots from the otherwise pitch black old pharmacy and laboratory section of the campus.
Most asylums and state institutions (and sanatoriums) were fitted with beauty parlors for the patients, helping create a healing environment and giving the patients some freedom in their appearance, despite clothing very often being supplied by the hospital itself. Finding hairdryer and barber chairs in hospitals is fairly common, and I’ve always smiled at finding these varied relics. It’s a breath of fresh air to be reminded of the humanism in a lot of these locations, so often bogged down by the more sensational stories of abuse. Most asylums were self sufficient, with carpentry and sewing rooms, teaching basic skills alongside reducing the cost on maintaining these publically funded institutions, so it would make sense that they would also provide salons
Part three of my photos from the Loews Kings Theatre. For an in depth history on the place, take a look at my friend’s blog post here, my previous posts include the lobby and mezzanine as well as a general overview.
wardnine 