3200N/1000W by Chipka
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Description
When riding public transportation in Chicago, one becomes aware of the grid pattern of Chicago’s streets. City planners decided—when such things as city plans were important—to lay all of Chicago out on an ordered grid. Grid references are available on most major intersection signs, and on all rail line (el and subway) stations. The Belmont El Hub stands precisely at grid reference 3200N/1000W. All of this is relative to the intersection of State and Madison. 0/0. If you were to stand in the exact center of the State/Madison intersection, you’d effectively exist off the map in terms of Chicago’s particular species of urban cartography. You’d be standing in the hole in the middle of the map. A bizarre and featureless dimensional crosshatch.
I thought of this as I waited for a northbound Brown Line train. The day was hot and quite muggy. As habit suggests, I was with Corey, and we’d just come from photographing ominous clouds over the lake, chatting with a random friend, seen heading in a westerly direction, and reeling over the fact that the Abbott Hotel is no longer there. The building still stands, but it’s sign and its residents are a thing of the past. I suspect it’ll become another high-priced condo-stack.
This is the end of that excursion: a random “turn and shoot” shot, and I liked it enough to save, enough to post here. I know the scene, and who the guy on the left was talking to. I overheard what they were talking about, and was pleased to know that they were highly offended by the use of Nina Simone’s rendition of “Strange Fruit” in what appeared to be a commercial. They, like me, feel that a song about lynchings in the South should not be used to sell something, though in the universe of a very dark and un-funny joke, such a song might serve for the sale of rope. I somehow doubt that this world is that dark, and that rope manufacturers have that much gall. But still, backstory notwithistanding, I feel that this image is a capture of a very strange moment in the permanent shift that is present-day Chicago. I also find it appealing that people now known to frequent Belmont Avenue also know the music (and the politics) of Nina Simone; once upon a time, Belmont Avenue was full of such people, until the suburbs moved back in. I’m glad to see that they haven’t completely taken over. There’s hope (a little bit) for the city, yet…
I like this shot. I like the emptiness in it and the stage-left character addressing the edge of the photo. I like the white shirts, and the grid-reference that is, if anything, an announcement that this image was made on this exact spot within the city of Chicago.
As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting, and I hope you’re all having a great week.
Comments (12)
MrsRatbag
I like this shot too. It feels like a pause in the scene, as if something BIG is about to happen. Could be anything, no one knows...the guy center stage across the tracks would be my vote as the center of the story, his whiter-than-white shirt is probably indicative of SOMETHING. At least in my mind... Well captured, Chip!
wysiwig
An urban slice of life. I find the composition very compelling. Almost all of the inanimate elements are horizontal. The upright humans seem to be placed there as an afterthought. Even your candids are thought provoking.
auntietk
I can't believe anyone would consider using Strange Fruit in a commercial for anything! Just thinking about Billie Holiday singing that song gives me the chills. Aside from that ... I like the composition of this image. The color of the people's clothes is amazing. It's like they were dressed by a catalog company! Black, white, apricot and blues, and the choreographer put them against a backdrop that's all neutral colors plus the repeated blue of the clothes. Wow.
Faemike55
This image just grabs the mind and makes you think and wonder. Great work & cool capture
durleybeachbum
Nina Simone was the first artist who 's music I ever felt compelled to buy: my first ever LP. A very interesting candid
alanwilliams
you cover a wide range of topics here, all of them interesting, topped of with a sweeping study of waiting, something that brings out a range of emotions and expressions in all of us in a situation such as this.
jendellas
I wonder where those people are going & how their lives are. I love people watching. Great image!! x
helanker
Another super shot of people in your beautiful city. Love it.
flyairth
This one just has a certain way about it. Just seems to make you reflect on life. Wonderful!
KatesFriend
Speaking perhaps of not well chosen music, I once heard a Musak version of Margaritaville playing on the PA of an LCBO (liquor store - Ontario has a monopoly on the sale of most alcohol in the province). Then again I once heard a guy sing Adele's, 'Rolling in the Deep' in a bar one night. Ontario: Where liquor makes strange bed fellows. Now that's a line for a license plate. It does look like a hot and muggy day at your station. The people on the platform seem to struggle against the heat. Unwilling to stay still, wandering close to the tracks in hopes of any slight breeze that foretells of an on coming train. But the sent of ozone in the pit says there will be no relief - heat clings to it more tenaciously than the sun in the sky. 'Perhaps the next train will have working air conditioning', may patrons quietly conjecture in hope. But such a crap shoot, they wanted to save money the last time new cars were bought. 'Now I remember why I don't like conservative politicians', thinks the man on the near side of the tracks. Hmm, that fellow's legs are nearly as hairy as mine. BTW: Was the Chicago grid system established before or after the great fire?
Cyve
Excelent shot !
kgb224
Superb capture my friend. God bless.