Persisting Industrial Person

10/31/2018

Sure, you are unique, it's true. But, you are also one of nearly 8 billion people.

I recently had a surprising debate on social media, in which my assertion that people want to be unique was contradicted by several folks, each suggesting in their own way(s) that uniqueness causes problems. What we need they said, is to fit in, to be accepted.

If we want to fit in, that should be easy enough, There are many invitations to do so. I, for one, live in a big city, and it's not tough to get lost in it, or, at least, to seem as a nonentity living behind yet another street sign.

This morning, I took my phone camera and went downtown, and took some pictures. I noticed how large many of the buildings are. I was not sure if that was a comforting feeling or oppressive. They certainly dwarfed me in scale.

After awhile, I felt my energy wane. My shots got broader, longer. My eyes started to droop, my feet to ache. Maybe that is what those folks meant by no longer wanting to be unique?

Even so, something spurns the call to fit in-- something persists.

Here is a video showcasing these and some other recent photographs. The music was recorded live, using one of my live mixing consoles. Some sounds were furnished at an earlier date by Daniel Barbiero.

I hope that you enjoy: "Persisting Industrial Person."

11 Comments

Jerry Kranitz

10/31/2018 05:24:07

Really enjoyed your photos/music video Thomas. What city are you in?

As for the debate, I think we all would like to think of ourselves as uniquely US. I think that’s unrelated to fitting in and being accepted. I live in a medium sized but rapidly growing city (Columbus,OH) which is still a sane size for me. I remember visiting NYC and feeling completely overwhelmed and absorbed by what to me was a BEHEMOTH!

Thomas Park link

10/31/2018 06:38:23

I am in Saint Louis. Your notion of breaking the topic into pieces works well, I think. Of course, yes, we are both unique yet wanting acceptance.

As far as the skyline of Saint Louis-- it is not the largest-- it is possible both to take comfort, I think, in the size of the buildings and also to be a bit overwhelmed.

Life in the city-- you are a real person to those who know you, and a sequence of letters and numbers to the rest.

Rafael González

10/31/2018 16:42:47

Yes, I enjoyed a lot!

10/31/2018 21:12:19

Thanks, Rafael! Glad you liked it.

Phillip Klampe

10/31/2018 21:22:37

Nice video and photography and really enjoyed the music as well. I wonder if it's possible to be unique but still fit in also. It's probably contradictory, but I like the idea of being anonymous to some extent while retaining whatever unique qualities are there. Thanks for posting this.

10/31/2018 23:03:23

I think a person can do pretty much what they want. I would just worry if, at the core, people weren't unique in some way. Sure, we all look similar on paper, I am sure, and in other ways, often to the extent that we so choose.

Evan Cantor

11/1/2018 16:32:04

nice work! I think the soundtrack and the images fit together to create an appropriately post-apocalyptic dread in the any-city any-where urban landscape. Strangely, I was guessing St. Louis, only because it has only one architectural oddity of which I am aware, the Big Arch, but in your video it could be anywhere, except for Barnes Jewish. I think the piece speaks more to alienation in an environment of ubiquitous sameness more than a debate between individuality and group consciousness ('fitting in'). If, indeed, that is what was intended, then I know exactly how you feel!

11/1/2018 17:10:39

I kind of understand the post-apocalyptic remark, though I can't figure out why-- technically, Saint Louis is for sure pre-apocaylptic. Maybe it's the lack of people? Maybe it kind of just seems like a lot of architecture in which a person could get lost?

Lumen K

11/1/2018 19:57:16

Pre-apocalyptic is a great descriptor. There is a gaping loneliness in these pictures as lovely as they are. The music works perfectly with them.

11/2/2018 12:17:36

I think it was the "emptiness" of it, yes the lack of people, that made me think post-apocalyptic, as if a plague had killed everybody in their sleep and their automobiles were still sitting around where they left them. In the video, the city looks clean and lifeless, the grocery store is empty of people (of course, they're all dead in their sleep, right?). The architecture, while always of some degree of interest, is pretty much anonymous, so it seemed like any-city-America and, as such, kind of foreboding, especially in black-n-white. As for pre-Apocalyptic, I like the sound of it although I'm not sure what it means. Is Saint Louis somehow old-school, "behind the times", or not catching up as fast as other places to inevitable future catastrophes (apocalypses)?

11/1/2018 21:56:31

Thanks for the positive feedback.

Persisting Industrial Person

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Thomas Park

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