Monday, October 19, 2009

When the circle has right of way...

Our assignment last week for our ongoing photography project was SHAPE, so by the end of the week, as I was heading off to lead my workshop at Pilgrim Firs, I was seeing shapes everywhere.

I had resisted shooting signs earlier in the week because we have a rule about not shooting things with words on them (too distracting), and, actually, about not shooting "things" anyway -- which turns out to be particularly hard with shapes. In the past we could avoid "thing-ness" by moving in close, but shape has to do with totality, so that wasn't really an option...

At any rate, this was one of the shots I took, and it pretty much breaks all the rules. But I like it for two reasons: because it tells me something about what these particular shapes (and colors) mean in the context of our particular society, and because it's a little bit amusing that the only shape missing is a circle (other than the flashing light) and yet the sign states uncategorically that the circle has the right of way.

Aargh -- the cats are crying to be fed and the repairmen are due any minute. So instead of offering any of my own thoughts about what it might mean for the circle to have right of way I'll just stop here and leave it for you to ponder. Have fun!

1 comment:

Maureen said...

I've been away for a bit and just catching up to all the posts I've missed.

I just love the conceptual fun one can have with "Circle Has Right of Way".

Off Nebraska Avenue, N.W., near American University, there is a sign that reads "No Turns From Circle". A kind of condemnation, I'd say.