“We drove 22 miles into the country around Farmington. There were meadows and apple orchards. White fences trailed through the rolling fields. Soon the sign started appearing. THE MOST PHOTOGRAPHED BARN IN AMERICA. We counted five signs before we reached the site. There were 40 cars and a tour bus in the makeshift lot. We walked along a cowpath to the slightly elevated spot set aside for viewing and photographing. All the people had cameras; some had tripods, telephoto lenses, filter kits. A man in a booth sold postcards and slides -- pictures of the barn taken from the elevated spot. We stood near a grove of trees and watched the photographers. Murray maintained a prolonged silence, occasionally scrawling some notes in a little book.
"No one sees the barn," he said finally.
A long silence followed.
"Once you've seen the signs about the barn, it becomes impossible to see the barn."
He fell silent once more. People with cameras left the elevated site, replaced by others.
We're not here to capture an image, we're here to maintain one. Every photograph reinforces the aura. Can you feel it, Jack? An accumulation of nameless energies."
There was an extended silence. The man in the booth sold postcards and slides.
"Being here is a kind of spiritual surrender. We see only what the others see. The thousands who were here in the past, those who will come in the future. We've agreed to be part of a collective perception. It literally colors our vision. A religious experience in a way, like all tourism."
Don DeLillo, White Noise
"No one sees the barn," he said finally.
A long silence followed.
"Once you've seen the signs about the barn, it becomes impossible to see the barn."
He fell silent once more. People with cameras left the elevated site, replaced by others.
We're not here to capture an image, we're here to maintain one. Every photograph reinforces the aura. Can you feel it, Jack? An accumulation of nameless energies."
There was an extended silence. The man in the booth sold postcards and slides.
"Being here is a kind of spiritual surrender. We see only what the others see. The thousands who were here in the past, those who will come in the future. We've agreed to be part of a collective perception. It literally colors our vision. A religious experience in a way, like all tourism."
Don DeLillo, White Noise
A picture perfect barn? A restored ’59 Chevy Apache?
I really prefer my barns decrepit, weather-beaten, barely standing. My trucks all rusted out with broken headlights and a birds nest in the wheel wells
Like the State Fair. Big Tex? Dumb. Almost as dumb as those gaudy Angels on Bass Hall. Unless you can catch him on fire. now that's a picture.
The Car Show? Yawn.
Fletchers Corny Dog, ok, yeah yeah yeah, I get it. I like the corny dogs. And I like the Art Deco sculptures
But the high point for me, the sight that inspires me in a spiritual way, is watching the kid in the wheelchair at the rodeo, his chair positioned where they let the handicapped sit right up next to the arena rails, so close your hair blows back when the horses fly past.
That is the best..
The Numinous.
No comments:
Post a Comment