Saturday, January 01, 2005

What is the Carson Ugly Project?

I am an amateur photographer. I love taking pictures. I have taken pictures as a hobby ever since I was in High School. It is how I prefer to express myself.. I take my Nikon D70 with me everywhere I go. I tend to shoot weird stuff. A friend suggested I start doing photo projects based on some of my interests. I agreed and selected the City of Carson as my first subject.

I had a chance to meet the new Mayor of Carson, Jim Dear, a few weeks ago. He was upbeat about his city’s future. I wish I could share his enthusiasm. Carson is just plain ugly, even with the Home Depot Center, and all the redevelopment.

I think Carson is one of the ugliest cities in the country. I have traveled a great deal and besides maybe Chicago Heights or Newark, I have not run into an uglier city. Even Watts and Compton are more attractive. I started a 20-picture project to capture how ugly Carson really is. The pictures are indexed below.

The Carson Ugly series so far:

#1 - The Train Tracks
#2 - The Carson Can Man
#3 - The Gate
#4 - The Tree in a box
#5 - Wilmington Ave & 223rd
#6 - Political Postings
#7 - Fat woman sleeping on a bench
#8 - The Carson River
#9 - The Tarp Fence
#10 - The Park
#11 - Project 1202
#12 - Mullet Man
#13 - The Couch
#14 - The Mobile Home Gate
#15 - No Trespassing
#16 - Gray and Bleak
#17 - Shopping Carts


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mojoey,
I truly understand the irony in your pictures as I too am in constant admiration of the levels of neglect and destitution in Carson. When peaceful parks are dealers marketplaces one has to ponder the reasoning behind the desire to defile.
But then again, the black river, the seedy bars, the homeless, the traffic. . . . reminds me of a few third world countries I've been in and considered similar conditions something exotic trying to struggle through a meager life.
I know, when life gives you lemons, blah, blah, blah.
Later Mo,
Keep on clicking, typing and talking, yours in a wonderfully simple world trying to unravel the reasoning behind things going so complex.
2F

Anonymous said...

Nice pictures.