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EXQUISITELY BORED IN NACOGDOCHES:
The
Photography of Chris AdamsBy
The Editor
Photos & Captions courtesy Chris Adams |
| In
a not-so-recent interview with Calvin Trillin, the wry travel and food critic
was asked what he would do differently if he “had it to do all over.” Sitting
in the timeless Gran Café de la Parroquia in Veracruz, Trillin said his main regret
was not slowing down and enjoying things - things like the coffee in front of
him or the ceremony that produced it. |
| Henderson
water tower and Sinclair service station |
Texas
Escapes has always wanted to create a sort of “immediate intimacy” with towns
across Texas. The attempt is to capture photos of architecture and artifacts of
the past in hope it may bring a memory to a former resident or pique the interest
of a reader that has never visited the place in question.
Over the years
we would occasionally venture into the world of Flickr – a photographic wonderland
where you enter with the heady anticipation of a school field trip but emerge
pleasantly battered.
Our
infrequent visits to Flickr were infrequent for that very reason. But each time
we emerged from Flickr, one name stuck with us. Exquisitely Bored in Nacogdoches.
We naturally noticed very familiar themes with EBIN, but there was something else
about the array of signage, defunct businesses and forgotten streets. Something
beyond the quality of a good photograph. Something we couldn’t quite put a finger
on. |
| After thinking about
it, we decided it came down to simple dignity. |
| The
25th Street Theatre in Waco |
When
you look at the work of Chris Adams, notice the care that is taken to show the
subject in a favorable light. It’s more than good composition – it’s giving dignity
to the subject, inanimate though it might be. |
| The
name EBIN belongs to Chris Adams, a born-on-the-island Galvestonian who fell in
love with East Texas while attending
college there. While some people can argue that it’s difficult to be bored anywhere
in Texas there’s a difference in being bored and being “exquisitely” bored. | |
Neon
sign in Henderson
"I
actually turned around to get this when I saw the shadow." |
The photographs shown
in this introduction are common themes on Texas Escapes
although Mr. Adams style is his own. His nighttime scenes of small towns may well
become his calling card and his store window series captures tawdry treasures
as well as the crushing loneliness of mannequins.
Here’s to boredom –
may it always be enjoyed exquisitely. |
| Malt
n Burger Mart in Rosenberg. "There is really nothing quite like a nice neon
sign contrasted with a sunset or sunrise sky." |
| The
Caldwell County Courthouse in Lockhart |
Sunglo
Feeds ghost sign in Midway
"I think traditionally, true ghost signs are
supposed to be on brick buildings, but I really like the rays of sun on this one."
- Chris Adams | |
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