Prowling around Oberlin’s New Theater Buildings
January 12, 2010
For some time I’d been watching the Eric Baker Nord Performing Arts Annex—an annex to Oberlin College’s Hall Auditorium—as it was being built. The copper-tile roof often beckoned, but somehow I never managed to bring my camera over to the building, and I was totally oblivious to the next-door Kander Theater. Today, in subfreezing temperatures, I fixed that. I also revisited a dumpster I’d photographed in the past and made my acquaintance with a new one. Old fall leaves rounded out the morning’s explorations. The sun was playing with me, one minute hiding behind clouds and the next barreling through at full blast. It made for unpredictable camera settings and varied looks to photos sometimes taken seconds apart. At 8:06 PM my feet are still cold, but I don’t regret my foray.
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Romancing Reality 
Well I’m glad you are having fun but I wish you were in Florida.
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January 12, 2020 at 10:21 PM
Thank you, Lynda. 🙂 I can see that you aren’t standing around waiting for me to take photographs with, though.
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January 13, 2020 at 8:22 PM
What a remarkable sequence of studies, overall making up one huge study. Each image by itself is a gem. Taken together they are a tour de force.
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January 12, 2020 at 10:33 PM
Thank you, Michael. I’m glad you like these. I thought I’d walk to other parts of town, but found enough to occupy the camera with just these two buildings and their environs.
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January 13, 2020 at 8:25 PM
Those are attractive glints of sunlight reflecting off the building in #3.
When I saw the name of the theater I immediately wondered if it refers to the Kander of Kander and Ebb. I checked, and sure enough, it does.
You certainly got your daily dose of rust and abstractions.
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January 12, 2020 at 10:54 PM
I took that photo after I thought I was finished and began walking back to the car. Turned around and wham! . . . Yes, that’s the Kander. You probably read that he attended Oberlin. He has returned to campus many times over the years. . . . Mmm, yes, rust and abstractions. Thanks for commenting, Steve.
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January 13, 2020 at 8:36 PM
Truly a lovely set. Love your dumpster studies.
(Are those cat paw prints in 20, 21, and 22? Not sure why, but that made me chuckle.)
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January 13, 2020 at 1:35 AM
Thank you, Johnny Crabcakes. Dumpsters can be so much fun. The paw prints are those of raccoons. We have a lot of raccoons around Oberlin, including—without invitation—in people’s houses.
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January 13, 2020 at 8:41 PM
I have a few dumpster abstracts hanging around my archives. There are such stories that the forgotten things of humanity tell about time and wear and tear and neglect. Dumpsters and other objects that are on the periphery of our concern. Always interesting objects to contemplate.
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January 16, 2020 at 11:09 PM
Thanks for writing again, Johnny. Of course you’re right in saying that dumpsters can be viewed as telling stories about “time and wear and tear and neglect.” For another story, you may be interested in reading a very short piece I wrote for the magazine published for residents where I live. It takes a while to load. https://lindagrashoff.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/unintended-consequences-eureka-fall-2018.pdf
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January 17, 2020 at 8:52 PM
Wonderful set if pictures, Linda – my favourites are 5, 8, 11, 12, and 21. A 🙂
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January 13, 2020 at 3:05 AM
Thanks, Adrian. The light shaft or whatever it is in #5 must be interesting from the inside, too. I’m sure I’ll find out someday.
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January 13, 2020 at 9:37 PM
What fabulous photos – colours, patterns, textures – I love them all 😊
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January 13, 2020 at 4:00 AM
Thank you, Alistair. I had a lot of fun taking these photos. Thanks for looking at all of them. I added another (the new #1) since you wrote your comment.
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January 13, 2020 at 9:39 PM
I love the variety in this group of images. Your eye for composition always seems to find the shot that makes the picture so “Linda”! I especially like the leaf pictures with the halos around them.
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January 13, 2020 at 5:21 AM
Thanks, Clare. I wondered if there was too much variety, but decided not to break up the photos over multiple posts. What I liked about the leaf photos with halos around them (love that image!) is how flat the rain had made them when it pasted them on the sidewalk.
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January 13, 2020 at 9:42 PM
Fine set, Linda! Looks like a nice building! Love the abstracts.
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January 13, 2020 at 10:16 AM
Thank you, Harrie. Abstracts are a lot of fun for me. I’m itching to take more of them. Maybe next weekend.
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January 13, 2020 at 9:45 PM
Beautiful shots of a remarkable building. And the detail shots are a nice compliment. Nice work!
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January 13, 2020 at 10:21 AM
Thanks, Ken. When I saw the roof going up on the Nord Annex, I could hardly believe it. What a curve!
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January 13, 2020 at 9:46 PM
#15, and ##17-22, could be in a museum of abstract art.
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January 13, 2020 at 8:36 PM
Gee thanks, Larry. I’m glad there are so many dumpsters in the world.
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January 13, 2020 at 9:52 PM
Superb set Linda. You engaged with those theater buildings like a well-seasoned jazz musician.
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January 14, 2020 at 5:08 PM
What an interesting thought! Thanks, John.
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January 14, 2020 at 5:37 PM
Wow. All those metal panels and each a great abstract study. And those dumpster images. Wow, again. 🙂 That was a great outing and worth all the shivers that accompanied it.
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January 15, 2020 at 5:31 PM
Thanks, Steve. Glad you like the photographs. If I hadn’t been having such a great time, I probably would have noticed earlier how cold it was and not have let myself get so cold. I was warmed up by the next morning, though.
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January 15, 2020 at 7:20 PM
Yikes, a Grashoff treasure-trove! You had fun with the building. Why do the green dumpster images seem like they’re underwater? Absolutely gorgeous. ANd the leaves, I love those too. And the single chair. I can’t believe this is all from one outing – that only shows your skill and sharp eye. Some things that stand out for me – the sweeping lines in #2, the minimalism in #4, the different halves in #5. The braille of #10 & #11 (thanks for showing the context above). The repeating patterns celebrated in #14, with evident joy. The way some scratches seem to exist in a different plane than they should in #20 & #22, and the luscious color of that series. The gestural beauty of #23. The perfect tangle of #24, as if a sculptor spent hours putting it together, lacing each leaf with care. Good idea to leave the tree in the background, too. The way #26 seems to talk about the passage of time. And speaking of that, #29 & #30. 🙂 They are both beautiful evocations of nature and change. I could see them as huge canvases. Or prints, of course. Wow, Linda, this is exciting. 🙂
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January 19, 2020 at 4:07 PM