Google Images

I use google images [street view] a lot when getting detailed directions, and nearly always walk away with a little something extra: an excerpt of a benign event, a weather change within 2 steps, or sometimes even a street brawl. I have taken a "walk" through the center of Yalta, Ukraine, and have explored parts of Estonia that i haven't been to, all behind my computer, thousands of miles away.

We all know that the accessibility that the word wide web creates is incredible, and has inspired artists of all mediums to work/incorporate/draw inspiration from them. Images from

Google found a place on our crit walls, in our day to day adventures, and in galleries.

Did anyone see the lecturer that spoke about the process of creating these images for google maps?

Did anyone see the video made by Arcade Fire that incorporated google maps imagery/chrome?

If not here it is:

http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/

( this article talks about the video )

Here is a series of Google Image "moments" uploaded from this source:

feel free to comment an image from google maps if one has stuck out to you and you happened to save it.

Four Motel Pools

Hi all, I have some more found photography to share, this time some sumptuous poolside scenes, probably from around the 1960s or so. I love how these postcards totally share the same photographic language, yet were made by entirely different photographers in different parts of the United States. I did a quick google and it seems there is a ton of information about these old postcards on the web. Otherwise get yourself to What Cheer Antiques at Wayland Square, or the Rhode Island Antiques Market in Pawtucket if you feel like poring through hundreds of old postcards...

The Governor Motor Hotel, Arlington Blvd, Falls Church, Virginia. Published by Prince Lithograph Co., Inc., Arlington, Virginia.

Southernaire Motel, U. S. Highway 90, Tallahassee, Fla. Photograph by Red Kerce Photography, Tallahassee, Florida.

Cloud Nine Hotel, 493 Vista Chino, Palm Springs, Calif. Photograph by Dennis Holmes Photos, Riverside, Calif.

Ghost Ranch Lodge Pool, 801 West Miracle Mile, Tuscon, Arizona. Photograph by Ray Manley Commercial Photography, Tuscon, Arizona.

This last one is my favorite - every person pictured here is playing a role. It makes for an elegantly composed tableau. I can almost see the photographer's assistants running around moving arms and rippling the water.

Two Men Times Two; for Andrew

These are for Andrew - on Wednesday we were discussing the representation of men in photography and Ann mentioned the interesting history of the portrayal of men together. I found these recently in Pawtucket. These aren't exactly kinky, but they're both fascinating. I should bring in the real thing to class - tintypes are great to pore over.

Two men (Artist Unknown), Tintype, n.d.

Bachelor Brothers (twins), Mary's brothers (Artist Unknown), Printed photograph, n.d.

Postcards from Djibouti

Speaking of photographic language, I seem to spend a lot of time finding artefacts which reveal the ways in which photography is used. In particular, I love postcard photographs, which illustrate (and often fall short of) pictorial photographic conventions of the times in which they were produced.

I found these three postcards of Djibouti, which are from the early 1900s, in India over the summer. They're exquisite.

DJIBOUTI - Mosquée Hamoudi (Unknown Artist)

DJIBOUTI - Vue générale prise due village indigène (Unknown Artist)

DJIBOUTI - L'Hôtel des Postes (Unknown Artist)

So much of what I love about these, especially the first and third pictures, is about gestures. People are moving in haphazard ways, caught awkwardly by the camera's gaze. Before photography, we would never have seen these things reproduced in this manner.