Ward View

Oh my God! This is one of my favorite shots of all time! Well done!

great shot. i love to the light coming in through the windows

Look there is a light fixture! Tie me a noose and swing it on up!

these windows remind me of unblinking eyes of some kind...they are very beautiful.

This is an amazingly beautiful picture. Thanks motts.

Why are you all so patronising?
Whats with all this wow great colours,
youve outdone yourself crap?

eric,
We are not patronizing, we are in awe; there is a difference.

plus I am going to have my remains scattered in this room.

We all just happen to appreciate Mott's talent!!

What's with the coming onto someone's site and making rude, unsolicited comments while forgetting basic grammar, punctuation, manners, and showing an obvious lack of awareness that some people have a wider appreciation of aesthetics, yet at the same time making yourself an object of scorn, derision and pity? :-)

eric, it takes a special kind of person to appreciate the beauty in the mundane, but, imo, this is the furthest thing from it. it takes a thoughtful (and, i daresay, reasonably intelligent)person to appreciate a forgotten history, the story of a life far different from one's own. and it takes a true artist, like motts, to be able to combine the 2 in such a dramatic and compelling way. but i wouldn't expect someone like you to understand that concept, so i apologize if my rationale is beyond your comprehension. i really should know better than to always expect civilized behavior , but i'm still so invariably taken by surprise. i do not normally surround myself with people of your particular caliber or mind set, so i am unable to understand your inability to appreciate the nature of this medium, the detail to composition (yes, these aren't merely snapshots, there is an art to taking a good picture, haven't you ever admired ansel adams' work? or is that beyond your scope of creativity and the appreciation thereof?), or your blatant contempt for something that you, frankly, have no concept. if you can't tell the difference between "patronising" (sic) and genuine regard and appreciation, i suggest you look it up. also a course in human behavior (along with a class in etiquette!) might not be such a bad idea. why in the world would ANYONE waste their time on a web site just to patronize someone we don't even know??? hello!?! think about it.
~a~

There is some irony to the weird comment above that we have all been referencing, and that is that this very photo is still one of my top favorites that Motts has done. Given what a large body of work Motts has and given that, like many others, I am drawn to this site such that I come back often in hopes of finding new material and looking at the old material again and again, that is saying something powerful about the impact this particular image has made on me. I think that's why I reacted as strongly as I did. This shot rocks absolutely. Anyone who doesn't feel the impact of this shot would better spend their time looking at Disney art. Disney art is lovely, it has clean lines and pretty colors, and even the very youngest people can understand it. There is a nice "black and white" "good versus evil" "and they lived happily ever after" feel to Disney art that you don't find here, because this is a reflection of reality.

The images on this site are darker and speak to things that are more substantial, more complex, and are the remnants of a culture that few outsiders generally want to understand (although most want to condemn without understanding all the complexities and subtleties that have been involved). I am lost at times looking through the power plant and harbor pix, but I can use my feel for colors, shapes, and textures to let them take me somewhere. I am most drawn to the pix of the abandoned institutions because I have spent the majority of my adult life working in them and getting to know the people and practices, current and past, that are part and parcel of them and that have shaped them. When I see these pix, I am reminded of many things, because I have walked down (and still walk down) similar halls and have spent time with people who have lived in these settings for much or all of their lives. There are great stories, there are wonderful stories, there are terrible stories, and there are boring stories, just like the stories we all have of our own lives.

Seeing these reminders of how things were in the past, I am glad that institutions are no longer like they used to be, but not because the institutions have changed - because the culture that used to support the practices that occurred in these institutions has changed. An institution is nothing more and nothing less than the sum of the attitudes that people have about other people. The people who formerly and currently work and live in institutions are you and me. To condemn and pity them is to condemn and pity you and me. When I see people come on to this site who make comments about how horrible it must have been to live here, I know they are unaware of how difficult it would be to be in the clutches of a devastating mental illness, both for the person involved and for those who love them. Sometimes living in the community is not an option. It's just that simple. And when I see people come on to this site and condemn everyone who was ever associated with an institution, again I know they are unaware of how horrible it was to work under the conditions the staff did and to have to observe the wretchedness produced by the lack of funding and lack of caring from the outside world.

I want the people who lived here and the staff who worked here to have a voice and be remembered in all their complexities, and I am frustrated that so many assumptions are made about both groups of people without taking the time to research the conditions under which the one group lived and the other group worked. But caring about others requires an investment of time and energy that few are willing to expend, and this, my friends, is where bad institutions come from.

[Tripping as she jumps off soapbox and spraining her ankle.]

What a fantastic post. Applause indeed!

Lynne, you have done much to educate me and other visitors to this site, to help remedy exactly the kind of ignorance you refer to. The institutional pictures touch me not in the manner of a cheap, horror movie full of cliche torture devices and mad doctors, but because of their associations with real people, all now long departed but whose stories need to be told. Your matter-of-fact explanations of the practices and equipment of the hospitals are the perfect accompaniment to the images, in many ways more disconcerting (the stories of understaffing and changing attitudes for instance) than anything one's imagination could associate with a rusted crib or abandoned ECT machine. I'd never thought of institutions as a microcosm of society, but of course they are. After all, there but for the grace of God (or an accident of birth, depending on one's theological outlook) goes ever one of us.

People have asked about a book or calendar - either way i know it would be incomplete without your explanations, maybe even a foreword... :-)

I just wanted to throw out my 2 cents worth. Motts' images seem to capture more than just the scenery in front of the camera, kind of a surreal feeling of what is must have been like before the decline of some of these places. Other Urban Exploration sites' photos have a one dimensional feel to them after viewing Opacity, great job Motts.

I first came to this site because I was interested in abandoned buildings (any and all). Since I have spent time reading the comments (especially Lynne's) I have changed perspective completely: instead of looking at abandoned buildings, I am experiencing the life that the buildings once had in them. Some of it was good, some of it was bad, and some of it (to quote Lynne) was just plain boring, but all of it was life. Thank you Motts and Lynne for reminding me that death doesn't precede life, be it in people or in buildings.

I have to agree - I came in with a burning curiosity regarding abandoned places, but I'm gaining a marvelous insight to the workings of both the human mind and our society. Kudos to Motts, and to those of you who have added so much to these photos with your wonderfully enlightening comments!

that is such a neat room

I find my self being addicted to this web site and the beauty that Motts is so nice to share with us. I have always been fascinated with the unknown and I have to say that Motts you are one lucky man. I would give anything to be in your shoes. THANK YOU.

I, too, am addicted, I wish I had known about this site earlier. When I describe this to others, I first tell them that Mr. Motts is truly an artist. The site certainly appeals to me as I have always looked at places (homes, schools, hospitals) and wondered what was happening there, and how people lived their lives.

Another "favorite" because you have once again captured everything I could think of in a photo. I agree with the others that what you do with a camera is not only about creating fabulous art for us to enjoy, but your pictures tell a story (with the help of your historical comments and all the other information found here). This combination brings your photos alive and quite frankly, just isn't found elsewhere. We're in awe. I don't have the time or the interest to patronize anybody and I doubt these other fine people do either....This is officially my longest comment and I'll be quiet now!!!

interesting post thx

heheh...I like this just because I get to actually see in and around a fancy or ordinary building without falling through a floor ;) The possible comments are what makes this site addictingly different.

The rooms in this place are amazing! I never understood why a place of this stature was never turned into something else so people could see the wonderful architechuall design