Saturday, September 4, 2010

Moving Day (Boston, Ma.)

"One thing about pioneers that you don’t hear mentioned is that they are invariably, by their nature, mess-makers. They go forging ahead, seeing only their noble, distant goal, and never notice any of the crud and debris they leave behind them. Someone else gets to clean that up and it’s not a very glamorous or interesting job."
- Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance



Leases in Boston typically start on September 1. That means that on September 1, almost every resident of the student/immigrant neighborhood of Allston moves everything he or she owns from one Allston apartment to another Allston apartment. Double- and triple-parked U-hauls (booked weeks in advance) clog the streets, trashed furniture litters the sidewalks, and landlords and tenants shout obscenities over just about everything.

After moving myself on (or around) moving day four years in a row, I wanted to examine it from a different angle. This is the first draft of my attempt to capture the absurdity that is Moving Day in Boston. I focused on the frustration and exhaustion of moving, and the waste and filth that movers leave behind.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

to me a good artist is one that can find esthetic quality from the most mundane activity,you are a good artist.

katie said...

ha! this is awesome. i love the shoe as a doorstop and the couch CUT in half on the curb. insane...

Sarah Beth Glicksteen said...

Thanks, guys.

José, you give the best compliments.

Katie, if you look closely at that second photo you mentioned, you'll see a cushion from that couch on the roof of the house. Really insane.

Anne Keane said...

these are amazing shots - love the lights in lieu of rope.


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