An alley only has two directions or one.
An alley strips you of your lateral freedom.
An alley forces structured decisions.
An alley forces interaction when passing somebody.
An alley strips performance from property.
An alley is full of discarded experiences.
An alley is artistic.
An alley is misunderstood.
How do you experience alleys?
In the last two weeks I have walked over 60 blocks down alleys towards various destinations.
Try it.
4 comments:
Cool pictures. As for how I experience alleys- I try not to! I'm from St.Albert, and most of our neighborhoods are structured so that there aren't any alleys. Edmonton, on the other hand, has a ton, and I guess because I'm not use to them, they scare me. I just feel like if I walk down one, it'll be like a scene from a movie where I'll get mugged or something. So I'm not going to try your challenge :P but I agree when you say alleys are misunderstood... by people like me, I'm sure! I just don't want to walk down one unless I have to.
I agree with jacki c. Cool pictures shaun!
i, too, like to walk down alleys. they can be much more peaceful to walk down than a sidewalk along a busy road. and in the summer people throw out tons of junk that's funny to look at. How many brown flower print velvet chesterfields have you seen in back alleys? funny like a crying clown.
back alleys allow glimpses into backyards which are typically more personal and less uptight than manicured front yards. you can see swingsets, and vegetable gardens, and abandoned toys, or an old vintage motorcycle collection.
I have a question for you: in walking through 60 blocks of back alleys in winter, did you find yourself walking in tire treads, one foot in front of the other, like you were on a balance beam? also, i liked the photo of the garage with the faded army fatigue design. so bad it's good, right? ha ha
Have you ever heard of Kari Duke? She is local artist who paints back alleys. You'd probably enjoy her work.
Sounds cool. I will check her out!
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