Old Shoes

Barnacle Shoes

Today I headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with my husband to visit the Robert Frank exhibit, Looking In: Robert Frank's The Americans. Wow! What a great exhibit! Wonderfully curated. Robert Frank is a living photographic legend and a master photographer. His photographs document America and what it means to be American. The print themselves are beautifully printed and simply presented. These photographs historically depict an America of a time gone by. They reveal to the viewer looking in, a historical pictorial account of America. For those people traveling to or living near the New York City area, this is a must see exhibit. It should not be missed.

I came upon the "Barnacle Shoes" in the photograph above as I was walking along the shore. I had to stop and make the photograph. Looking at these old shoes, I could not help but wonder who they had belonged to. Who had worn the old shoes? What kind of people were they? Where are they now? Were these shoes from a foreign land and just now washing up on our shores? Were they simply discarded, forgotten, or just left behind? How long have they been at sea? What kind of lives did the people wearing these shoes lead? Did the people know each other? Were these the shoes belonging to people lost at sea? The more I looked at the shoes, the more questions I had. I look at these old shoes as Robert Frank must have looked at his subjects when photographing The Americans. I am looking as the observer documenting and asking questions of what I see. I am choosing to make a photograph of barnacle shoes that have washed ashore. It is those of us who are photographic observers and documentarists, who constantly strive to show others that which most people, simply walk by and disregard. Perhaps we too should be more like Robert Frank and "Look In" to our world and help document our pictorial history. So this week, take time to document your world- your family, your children, your pets, your loved ones. Document those things that are important to you and you hold close to your heart. Document your history at this particular point in time.

Until next time. Hasta Luego.

Alina