Lynne,
I'm sure you are a good person who cares very much about the mentally and physically handicapped. It's quite obvious that you are on some type of crusade to get rid of the negative stigma surrounding mental health care, and thats good. Many people don't get the help they need because of all the negative images attached to being "crazy" so to speak. I am all for viewing things as they are. However, I was under the impression that this web site was devoted to the photography of urban decay. This is art. The above picture, whether or not it was just a joke or whatever, is still a strong image, and "the pit of oblivion" fits perfectly as a description of depression as well as a description of institutiional life, whether it be in a mental hospital or a prison. Being locked up is no fun.

Why was Mona Lisa smiling? Why did Paul McCartney write "Yesterday"? I don't nor want to know why. I make my own explanations.

When you have pictures of rotting structures in front of you, are you going to think of the helpful doctor and the smiling nurse, or the "Nurse Ratchetts" of the world? It would be like trying to have a wedding in a cemetary. Im sorry to ramble on, but I feel like Motts is trying to show some of the beauty in decay and death, and, in a way he is helping to "de-myth" these places, but everyone wants to turn it into a politcal issue. The problem is that this isnt the place. We're all just looking at some beautiful pictures.

There is no reason to pity the dead. They are gone. I have a strong feeling that all of the people that are so taken aback by the "insensitive" comments have never actually been inside an abandoned building. Its creepy, its full of decay, and its ok to make jokes. We all die. Get over it.

Man you people really know how to suck the fun out of art. Its ok to make up your own scenario when looking at a photo. This is not the place for political discussions. Take it elsewhere.

Looks very much like it could have come straight out
of Fritz Lang's "Metropolis"

:)

another of my favorites.

now this is a nice picture. :)

ohh, wow. nice.

Ward A was the violent ward for the female patients, not the male patients. Just thought I'd let you know.