desolation circus...
there aren't a lot of circus photos that scream desolation like this one. perhaps because they are usually inside tents, or perhaps because when they are outside everything doesn't disappear along the horizon...
there's a lot of lonliness here... the solo flag, the three lights (?), and everyone on stage looks like they're in a daze and somewhat lost. the tents in the background look incredibly small and in terms of a band, i can only make out two horn players. it was probably a pretty quiet fanfare indeed...
the thing that completely slayed me is the stage and its beautiful wood slats, like a pier or an island designed by donald judd.
if you want to see a companion i call desolation carnival, check out patrick's recent post on his stuff from the park disneyland blog...
3 Comments:
Hey, this is beautiful, the desolation circus. I find it ecstatic that Rilke, our friend of desolation, wrote often of acrobats and this photo makes me think of his circus words--(oiled slippery air!)
But tell me, who are they, these wanderers, even more
transient than we ourselves, who from their earliest days
are savagely wrung out
by a never-satisfied will (for whose sake)? Yet it wrings them,
bends them, twists them, swings them and flings them
and catches them again; and falling as if through oiled
slippery air, they land
on the threadbare carpet, worn constantly thinner
by their perpetual leaping, this carpet that is lost
in infinite space.
Stuck on like a bandage, as if the suburban sky
Had wounded the earth.
……………………………………
glad ye liked it :-) one day i'm definitely going to release a cd called "this carpet that is lost in infinite space". thanks for bringing up rilke, i'm tired of doing it myself all the time!
Very cool. There's something about the circus photos - hard to describe - hard not to be drawn in.
A close friend of mine recently put together another form of tribute for his grandfather, E.J. Kelty, who was often referred to as "The Circus Photographer". His photos are quite amazing - you'd probably recognize some. They're from the 20's and 30's of the people, the acts, the animals, side shows and more. His site is at www.centuryflashlight.com. Take a look and I'm sure you'll agree that there was something much more magical about the circus in those days.
Post a Comment
<< Home