Abandoned America Blogs and News

Abandoned places: halfway between reality and somewhere else.


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What if abandoned sites are our society's most important wake up call?


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What's new on Abandoned America? Pretty much everything!
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I don't know that a perpetual state of mourning is the answer, and sometimes I feel that perhaps it's a bit selfish. No matter how legitimate your suffering, its effect is often to turn your gaze inwards and sever your connection with others and the world around you.[html]


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Recently Jane Derenowski did a feature on my work at NBC Nightly News - it's a great article and I'm grateful for the coverage. You can check out the site by following this link, the two video pieces came out really well. Thanks, Jane!

http://dailynightly.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/28/14126886-abandoned-america-one-photographers-quest-to-document-the-beauty-in-old-buildings?lite

Details on the upcoming show at Rochester Institute of Technology's SPAS Gallery from September 13-27, 2012. You won't want to miss it.


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Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing all of this for.


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An isolative nature and abandoned sites go together quite well, surprisingly.


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The effects of depression and the effects of decay are remarkably similar.


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I come across a great many dead things during my travels. Some affect me more than others.


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Quite a bit has been added to the site in the last six months. Here's where you can get a run down.
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Jeff Spevak writes a feature about artists who get their inspiration from decay discussing my work. Check it out here!


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Sarah Wanenchak's fascinating examination of the phenomenon of atemporality as it relates to photographs of decay features photographs and quotes from Abandoned America. Read it here.

Now you can view all of them in one place via the tab at the top of the page, or by clicking here.
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David Garber of the National Trust for Historic Preservation writes on PreservationNation about abandonedamerica.us and the 360 degree panoramas I'm doing of abandoned sites. Read it here.

Matthew Christopher's Abandonedamerica.us work will be on display from March 16th, 2012 through May 12, 2012 at the Genesee Center for the Arts and Education.
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Abandonedamerica.us'' questions for February include: What is the coolest place I''ve been to? What''s the scariest thing that''s happened to me and have I ever left a place because I was spooked? And how do I get into sites, anyway?
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If, at it's core, the photography of ruins is dealing with death and mortality, how should it approach the subject? How does the literal depiction of death through art and photography play into the subject? In this post we'll examine these topics and try to come to some conclusion about the purpose and approach taken with regards to the subject, and what can be expected by the viewer. Thoughts and opinions are welcome.
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What are reasonable expectations of the genre of the photography of ruins? What makes one's body of work a success or a failure? What expectations are reasonable to have of this line of art and the photographers who work in it? Who is to blame for the staggering losses these photographs present? Short answer: I don't know, and probably me.
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What constitutes "ruin porn"? How did the term come about? And what is its use and validity in the discussion of photography of ruins? In the first installment of this series, I will explain the history and evolution of this overused term and where it fits into the dialogue about abandoned sites, preservation, and art. Thoughts and comments welcome.
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