Adventures in Truck Yard Archeology by Chipka
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Description
History lurks in forgotten objects, in objects deemed useless. Abandoned things offer a wealth of discoveries. I can’t say that I have a profound interest in history, but I do have a gentle relationship with that particular academic discipline. It is—after all—because of abandoned things (in a truck-yard, no less) that I have discovered the history of so strange a land as Ükür; through the history of that strange (diminutive) land, I’ve discovered the lives of people as well.
Some of you may know of Ükür; a greater number of you may know Agara. I discovered Agara while wandering around in the Czech Republic. I discovered Ükür shortly after my return to the USA. And for those interested, more tales of Agara, Ükür, and the twin cities of Prague and Prague will grace my gallery in the upcoming year.
During a recent foray into the bowels of an all-too-familiar truck-yard, I discovered more bits of dead technology: things of mysterious origin. I found dead computers, (I don’t know where they came from or why they were in the truck-yard) I found coils of fiber-optic cable...I found the crushed and fragmented husks of cicadas, and the spongy mass of a yellowjacket nest, decomposing. I found all of these things on a single day not too long before the Blizzard of 2011. I wondered at the connections of these unrelated things, and imagined (as I often do) that there were connections, if not in a truck-yard on in the deep-southern reach of Chicago, then at least in the stranger realms of Ükür, Agara, or the twin cities of Prague and Prague. I am sure that the decomposing, spongy mass of a yellowjacket nest will serve as an image in an upcoming tale. I’m sure that cicada fragments will appear as well. It’s almost inevitable, in the grand scheme of things.
I found dead circuit boards. I made excuses to rummage for more, placing them in a salvaged plastic bag. I know they are beyond use, but there was something about them. I brought them home. I washed them. Two of them gleam dully, as if new. One of them continues to corrode, for a reason I have yet to ascertain. Wetness, I suspect; it was found in mud, after all. Perhaps truck-yard dogs have something to do with that unstoppable corrosion as well. It’s interesting how quickly things degrade when a male dog raises one hind leg and writes his canine narratives on any available surface. Where cat-pee stains wood, the output of a dog will inspire metallic corrosion; and so, I wonder if Rover has written a slowly-oxidizing narrative on dead technology. I’ll have to ask him, but lately, it’s been too cold in the truck-yard and he hasn’t been around. Rover is a feral dog, and so the foul weather has probably inspired his more nomadic inclinations. Apparently this happens on a yearly basis. Winter arrives and Rover disappears. Spring returns, bringing Rover back with it.
At any rate, I found dead circuit boards in a particular truck-yard on the south side of Chicago. I washed them. On a particularly boring night, I shined a flashlight through one and snapped a picture. This is the result. I rather like what happens when light makes it way through the odd, angular shapes that define the guts of modern technology. I’m quite fond of the circuit board in question, and because of my time in the city of Prague, I’ve come to recognize dead computer parts as potential elements of interior design. At the moment, however, interior design is not one of my concerns, but strange patterns of light defined by resistors, transistors, capacitors, and microprocessors have taken my fancy.
There is very little postwork done on this photo. Most of it is simple resizing and a bit of contrast/levels work…and that’s it. And as always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting…and I hope you’re all having a great week.
Comments (23)
MrsRatbag
For some odd reason this reminds me of football play strategies on a locker room chalkboard; circles and lines and implied relationships and action. I like this!
jocko500
wow I thought it a map of the truck yard and the circles was places you find stuff. now I see it as a circuit board you find. hey if you find the hard drives you can buy a case for 10 dollars to check them out and see if they will work. maybe you can make some cash there. if you do not know what I talking about ast a friend that knows computers. my computer die on me, it was the screen and my brother bought a small case for it for $10 and now I got a small 80G hard drive that runs on a UPS port. hope I say it right it the same thing as the mouse will run on when you plug it in. Most computers have three of those ports.
auntietk
I saw prined circuit boards every day for so many years, my mind started to warp. Reading an article in NG one day, I was confused by the fact that they were up in arms about PCBs in the water, and how dangerous that was. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what they were on about! People don't generally put their printed circuit boards in the water. Then it dawned on me ... ahhh ... polychlorinated biphenyl. Dang! I've also never thought about shining a light and taking a picture of one. Talk about making art out of an ordinary object! Okay, it might be more ordinary to me than to many people (except Clive) but still ... it's pretty common! Excellent shot!
blinkings
Aamzing
beachzz
this looks like it should be hanging in a gallery of modern art. a simple circuit board, along with your narrative, gives it something very special!!
Simpleworks
Wow, i thought it was a prop from a SiFi movie. Excellent image.
kgb224
This is amazing what piece of artwork a circuit board can make. Outstanding photography.
Crabbycabby
Fantastic lighting on this.
whaleman
Bringing back memories about things I'd rather forget, but this is an oldie and probably a lot of those connections are cold solder joints, which may have precipitated the junking process. After all, there comes a time when replacement of these cheap overpriced circuit boards costs more than the vehicle is worth to you. As you suggest, there is quite an industry engaged in recycling these things into something else. Snap-in internal computer memory boards frequently become a keychain element. Looking forward to more thoughts on the twin cities of Prague and Prague. I hope you can read into my writing the different pronunciation of the two.
durleybeachbum
Inspired!
helanker
WOW ! To me this could be a cave map and all the little dots are people.. OH !! WAIT ! That is a vehicle factory. Dont you see that? They make cars and stuff like that. To the left, the cars are in progress on a production line and the upper end they are getting painted and to the right they make Harleys :-) There are really many employees :-) What a great idea it was to bring it home. :-) THankd for the narrative too. I really liked your spinnings :-)))
jcpowell
Cool idea to back light the circuit board to get the glow effect. It has a definite TRON-like quality to it!
Meisiekind
Well, Tara said it! You are a special mand with a keen eye for art in any form or shape! Amazing narrative and a superb result on the circuit board Chip! WOW - I never would have thought!
Sea_Dog
Interesting shot - as the others have said, I'm amazed how you turned this discarded object into art. It is fascinating to look at.
mgtcs
Excellent capture Chip, a super interesting work and an amazing lighting, fabulous writing!
Orinoor
I've always liked circuit boards; they are blueprints for the imagination. In my part of the world, it would no doubt foster the growth of various fungi. Still, it is better to recycle them, they are toxic to the things we love.
sandra46
FABULOUS IMAGE! GREAT COMPOSITION!
Cameocat
Well thought-out and a wonderful thing to cogitate on here.
dashboard_jehovah
Outstanding image and idea! Now everyones gonna try it...me included!
bmac62
In a word...stupendous...well, it had to be a very special word:-)
flavia49
intriguing and fascinating work
icerian
Hallo Chip, I had the same idea: photo of various beautiful PCB. It is fascinating. Well done!
danapommet
Cool shot! There is gold in them there circuit boards. Figure out how to extract the gold without breathing in the fumes from the PCBs. Well, how does $1,300 an ounce sound. Dana