“The moon is brighter since the barn burned down.” – Chinese Proverb
Sometimes in my travels I come across barns. I travel a lot. I photograph wherever I am. My job has required me to get around locally and regionally as well and there are farms all over Western NY. I have friends that live all over the area too. Naturally, I see a lot of barns when I travel to visit them. As an artist, I’ve always been drawn to blue highways and photographing rural landscapes (like this one).
And sometimes I do come upon scenes like the ones below that make me stop and take a photograph of a barn, as so many people do.
“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 side, replaced at once 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 in the past, those who will come in the future. We’ve agreed to be a part of a collective perception. This literally colors our vision. A religious experience in a way, like all tourism.”
– from White Noise by Don DeLillo