Orthography by Chipka
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Description
I see this wall nearly every weekend, on nearly every major holiday, on sunny (or cloudy) afternoons. I see this wall at night, lit by the faded, dingy, orange glare of pressurized sodium vapor, trapped in a glass bulb and excited by electricity. At times, I can hear the buzz of electrical energy, coaxed through cables. It’s an impressive sound. I see this wall and think of the placement of bricks: a secret language. I’ve scrutinized the wall in as many ways as I could, and I have begun to see patterns in the bricks. Some of them seem to repeat. Irregularly, but I’m sure there could be a pattern…there would be a pattern, if the wall was longer, by perhaps a mile or two. I rather like the irregular repetition, however; it reminds me of syntax and makes me wonder what someone…anyone could possibly say with bricks. Quite a lot, judging by the size of that wall; it’s the whole back of a synagogue that became a Romanian Pentecostal church; I know as a synagogue, it had something to say…probably about covenants and challenges, and some guy named Abraham.
On a day with sunlight and sharp, late-afternoon shadows, I saw this wall and heard Romanian-style old ladies talking about whatever little old Romanian ladies talk about. They wore drab colored skirts and rather colorful headscarves. They looked post-Communist, and sounded like any other aspect of Albany Park: indistinct…multi-genre, remixed and remastered.
They were the kitchen ladies, I think; there are always kitchen ladies in the alley behind the church.
While listening for familiar words strung through long and complicated Romanian sentences, I looked at the wall of a hulking post-synagogual church. I noticed an odd pattern: black lines like dividers between paragraphs. I thought of Agara and decided that the black bricks were dividers, rather like lines on notebook paper. I looked at bricks through my camera view-finder and saw how they’d dried, how they’d baked in brick-kilns far, far away. These marks, as I'd long imagined, are how you pronounce the bricks. I thought of “the Placement of Bricks” as recognized in Agara, and I laughed at the idea that so dominant a wall might have been little more than…well…a vague declaration of…gossip?
Well…maybe not. I do know, however, that the idea of communication through masonry is something that’s been stuck in my head for quite some time, and I’m beginning to see potentials…patterns…and hints and whispers (at least visually) of salacious talk between bricklayers and anyone able to read what they build. It’ll be a while, however, before I begin to learn which bricks are letters and which are punctuation marks or numbers. Ah, but perhaps bricks are like ancient Greek. Those guys didn’t use punctuation, which led (once) to the mistaken belief that the entire ancient Greek language was simply one very complicated and very long word. Maybe brick-speak is the same…. Only harder.
Or not…
As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting, and I hope you’re all having a great week and the beginning of a great weekend.
Comments (21)
treasureprints
Nice graphic shot.:)
NefariousDrO
Man I'd be so totally obsessed with that wall. I'd probably take zillions of photos square-on for texturing purposes, too. I love your POV on this, the lines and colors are magnificent, especially those fascinating rows of black bricks. It's also amusing the trains of thought you find inspired by this wall. I really liked the idea of the world of Agara in your story, I do hope we get to see more of that fascinating place, too.
mgtcs
Sounds like the tenets of the Freemasons, who have claimed to be from the tradition of the builders of Solomon's Temple, the Pyramids or even of Atlantis. Looking at your wall, framed as it was in the image, one can really not help but establish a mental thread that travels through history linking these mythical places to modern day and common everyday places. Food for thought, as usual.
auntietk
.lla retfa ,eugoganys a saw sihT .tfel ot thgir morf ti gnidaer yrT .dneirf yM I believe it lists the proper temple measurements as laid out by Ezekiel: When you allot the land as a possession, you shall set apart for the Lord a portion of the land as a holy district, twenty-five thousand cubits long and twenty thousand cubits broad; it shall be holy throughout its whole extent. Of this a square plot of five hundred by five hundred cubits shall be for the sanctuary, with fifty cubits for an open space around it. And in the holy district you shall measure off a section twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand broad, in which shall be the sanctuary, the most holy place. It shall be the holy portion of the land; it shall be for the priests, who minister in the sanctuary and approach the Lord to minister to him; and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. Another section, twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand cubits broad, shall be for the Levites who minister at the temple, as their possession for cities to live in. Alongside the portion set apart as the holy district you shall assign for the possession of the city an area five thousand cubits broad, and twenty-five thousand cubits long it shall belong to the whole house of Israel.
whaleman
I alway enjoy looking at brick walls to see the mason's style. I'm always on the hunt for a good Flemish Bond which is not often seen anymore but has character. This is interesting though just for the fact that it is such a large wall and the mason kept a regular pattern; five normal courses followed by a course of headers. The uniformity amid the variety illustrates the work of good craftsmen!
durleybeachbum
I believe I remember you mentioning this language before. I have enough trouble with English. How do you suppose one would write 'Dyslexia lures KO' in Brick? Superb pic. The composition is perfcetion.
kgb224
I also see brick walls nearly every day at our work. Our whole stations buildings has bricks. Stunning capture my friend. God Bless.
fallen21
Excellent shot.
Feliciti
indeed excellent captured !! like the light on the wall and the tex too !!
moochagoo
Very simple but effective :)
dreampaint
perfect shot, all is perfect!!!
Orinoor
Brick is such a simple material on the surface, yet can be so different from one craftsman to another. Beautiful shot, you've really captured the immensity of it.
flavia49
stunning work!!
sandra46
SUPERB WORK, GREAT IMAGE
m_j_s
Wonderful composition!!
icerian
Magic wall structure. Congratulation!
RodS
Wonderful composition, Chip! You see art where most of us just walk on by...
MrsRatbag
Wonderful image and concept, Chip; for me, I see fantastic patterns until my astigmatism takes over, then the words come out.
jac204
Great capture.
praep
Very cool find.
helanker
Yea, I knew it. I knew it was about messages, when I saw this shot :) I still remember your thoughts about this a while ago. Fascinating and a beautiful shot.