Comments
Trash

Paul

The trash seen effectively undercuts the structural solidity around it.

Location: Buffalo Central Terminal  Gallery: Baggage

A Dead Building

Paul

A simple scene but perfect shot, leads the viewers eye up to the building in all its rustic look, framed by the tree branches captured.. on top of it all, the bright sky with clouds contrats greatly with the scene on the ground.

Location: Pennhurst State School  Gallery: The Sadness

Mess

Paul

Excellent photograph.. almost disturbing. the very fact that someone was once constrained to this room and we see the bed they once slept in is a powerful aspect...

Location: Northampton State Hospital  Gallery: Mental Floss

Shade

Paul

Agreed.. but also, invokes an entrapping sense in the viewer, looking out into the outside world through bars , the interior is equally as subdued as the environment within.. Great photograph.

Location: Northampton State Hospital  Gallery: Mental Floss

Firehosery

Paul

Excellent shot, got the wallpaper.. ! The length of the corridor and the hosereel leads the viewers eye to the sunlight filled windows. However, it is unsettling to see the two chairs positioned as they are, like they are hinting at the civilisation of the past that now leaves them vacant.

Location: Gravesend Asylum  Gallery: Thorazine Dream

Magenta Light

Paul

The hues seen are effectively varied; mid tone seen on the peeling walls, showing the state of decay the place is experiencing, but the 'Magenta Light' as it were, gives an almost menacing look to the caged in bathroom by its striking intensity.

Location: Gravesend Asylum  Gallery: Thorazine Dream

Patterns

Paul

The peeling of paint fully supports Motts' premise of time taking its toll on a place removed of its former use. Here, we are able to see layers shed, in effect revealing a factor of the past before our eyes, being the old paint. Furthermore, we must take into account that the view into the outside world through the window seems to be limited, implying a generally entrapping environment the patients may have had.

Location: Gravesend Asylum  Gallery: Thorazine Dream

Seclusion Room #3

Paul

The bright, happy colours that Angela comments on must have an attempt to alleviate whatever disorder the patient must have been suffering from. Invariably, him or her would have been unhappy to some degree, black would be the colour of the persons mind, the interior of this room would challenge such a feeling.

Location: Gravesend Asylum  Gallery: Thorazine Dream

Seclusion Room

Paul

Perfect tonal range, black and white really acts as the best medium to emphasise the sombre look the door has and more so what lies inside the room. We are also able to almost empathise with the mental patients once confined to this room. Furthermore, the peeling paint is a subtle comment on time and how the layers are stripped away when left devoid of human maintainence.

Location: Gravesend Asylum  Gallery: Thorazine Dream

Shirt

Paul

unsettling, almost gives a human quality to the otherwise cold and hostile surroundings.

Location: Fuller State School and Hospital  Gallery: Disturbed

Basement Stairs

Paul

Agreed with everyone else - the image evokes curiosity yet fear in the viewer, with the the weathered stairs giving the perfect descent into the basement which has an almost unhealthy greeen glow to it.

Location: Fuller State School and Hospital  Gallery: Disturbed

Crib With Sheet

Paul

The mid - tone colour { British spelling} is perfect for emphasising the almost sombre feel the shot exhibits, with the sheet laid on it suggesting that it is concealing something, or someone, inside.

Location: Fuller State School and Hospital  Gallery: Disturbed

Toilets

Paul

The dust provides a sense of age immediately. Even more so, this shot starkly illustrates the absence of privacy and dignity of which we all take for granted in such a situation. The most disturbing aspect is that children used them, at such a vulnerable time of life, they were almost de- humanised. We should be grateful that Motts successfully exposes this flaw, albeit used years ago, but nonethless questions the pleasent veneer that the place must have had. The very fact that lawsuits were filed proves my point. I wonder how these children turned out to be ?

Location: Fuller State School and Hospital  Gallery: Disturbed

Rusted Playground

Paul

A very evocative shot, the position of the bike - like some kids just got of it, matched with the bench seen in the background, acting as examples of former civilisation. However, the building that encloses this playground seems entrapping, like the innocence of the children was corrupted, with the contrast of the blue sky offering the only sense of freedom to aspire to.

In my opinion, one of Mott's best shots throughout all locations covered.

Truly a suggestive, deep, and atmospheric shot.

Location: Fuller State School and Hospital  Gallery: Disturbed

Cell

Paul

Agreed, bland and empty but far from uninteresting. Just imagine some kid in here living the effects of being confined in this very room, it being his only area of privacy in the place he considered home - you can almost feel the unhappiness and instability in photographs such as these, executed so precisely and effectively by Motts

Location: Fuller State School and Hospital  Gallery: Disturbed

Turquoise

Paul

Great contrast, the rotting wood falling at its own rate with the almost unchanged look of the windows and the hypnotic looking walls.

Location: Riverside State Hospital  Gallery: Rhythmic Soundscapes

His Little Room

Paul

Great perspective involved in this shot, playing on the idea that there was once human contact with the mattress, which offered a place of comfort for the patient. Years later, he or she is absent, leaving a harsh, cold look in this decaying place.

Location: Riverside State Hospital  Gallery: Rhythmic Soundscapes

Slab

Paul

Morbidly interesting.. Instead of seeing the interior of the Hospital, which housed mentally ill patients who were alive, we are now privy to the temporary location of a dead person. The wooden block heightens this idea greatly.

Location: Riverside State Hospital  Gallery: Complexity

Pastel Skies

Paul

Brooding, shows the facade in a dubious approach. The uncontrolled force of nature is shown excellently by the plants which offer an abstractly beautiful look.

Location: Dixmont State Hospital  Gallery: Departure

Blur

Paul

Perfect!! The underlying theme of insanity is shown in this shot so effectively, bringing human presence once again to the place which once contained it. Anyone reminded of the ghostly patients seen in House on Haunted Hill 1999 version insofar as the fast shaking of the head..?

Location: Dixmont State Hospital  Gallery: Departure

Orange

Paul

Such impersonality of the toilets - no door to enclose one inside, { well I guess that may be a risk with mental patients ?} the curtains that presumeably have been there since 1984 {!} offer the only sense of comfort and brightness/

Location: Dixmont State Hospital  Gallery: Departure

Crosslight

Paul

Excellent subtle emphasis on direction - either left, right or to the dubious looking terminal beyond the ''EXIT'' sign. Moreover, even though one has the chance to escape the eerily atmospheric place there is a certain hesitency. One example of many of Motts' ability to create evocative images.

Location: Dixmont State Hospital  Gallery: Departure

Lined Up

Paul

the cheery sky just magnifies their plight
www.spaces.msn.com/members/sensualidad for art deco art

Location: Staten Island Boat Graveyard  Gallery: Wrecks