Windows to the Soul, or Souls Past and Present

The Morbid Details - Lynda Lehmann c 2010

Taken Over - Lynda Lehmann c 2010

Windows of an aging public institution, overgrown with vines, patched, boarded and abandoned, conjure many tales. I think windows and doors have always been iconic for the human species: they are among the archetypes or unconsciously-associated symbols that help us interpret human behavior and navigate the mystery of our existence in the cosmos.

It's no surprise then, that windows such as these have an almost horrific and shocking impact. At least, that's how I feel when I gaze at them. One has to wonder what went on there, in this abandoned complex of buildings at King's Park Psychiatric Hospital, on the grounds of what is now Nissequogue River State Park, and what spiritual forces may have been left behind. One doesn't have to believe wholeheartedly in ghosts to acknowledge that we haven't disproved their existence. Whose spirit might roam these grounds? Would you want to meet them? And perhaps most importantly, will we ever achieve a really humane society?

I posted some other shots taken at this site, last year. I love capturing these vintage/urban shots in spite of the fact that they usually don't evoke positive emotions. But they tell stories, and they have so much character. How well they mark the passage of time and the passage of the human stream, along with it! If you click on the photos you will see more of the details, like the shroud effect of the plastic sheeting on the top image, and the poignant gesture of the vines, in both shots.

At times, contemplating images that reflect a darker side of our collective reality, may make us appreciate the lighter side of the human condition. Things like love and beauty. Do you agree?

Images and text copyright Lynda Lehmann. All rights reserved.

If you would like to view my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

Images Evoking Torment

Broken Promises - Image c Lynda Lehmann

In the decay of our cultural institutions we find images that evoke the core of human suffering. Privation, need, fear, despair, insanity, and hopelessness. For me, the lesson in viewing such places is that by seeing scenes that can be described as either spiritually or physically ugly, we see the brighter things. Paradox is so deeply built into the human experience that by its very nature, it teaches us to look at things from a wider perspective. "Holistically," as one of my revered Art Education professors at Penn State University used to say.

Here are a few photos from the grounds of Kings Park Psychiatric Center, that I shot last week. The old state hospital is on what are now the grounds of Nissequogue River State Park in Suffolk County. You can wander the grounds but the buildings, for understandable reasons, are off-limits. Indeed they are crumbling, and would be dangerous to approach. It seems to me that New York State would do well to either reclaim these building for future generations, or destroy them. They're an attractive haven for wayward teenagers, I'm sure. And that in itself is dangerous. Perhaps they could be used to make a summer day camp, or sold to artists to renovate? Or just razed to increase the usable space of the existing park?

Eternal Struggle - Image c Lynda Lehmann

I enjoy walking there because ghosts of the past seem to whisper on the stale wind coming out of the dark windows. I enjoy the place visually, as a photographer. And as a bit of local history. But in hard economic times in particular, I would think the space, if not the buildings themselves, could be reclaimed for public use of some sort.

Best Forgotten - Image c Lynda Lehmann

A Voice from the Shadows - Image c Lynda Lehmann


Forbidden - Image c Lynda Lehmann

For me these structures evoke all the pain and torment of mental illness, for those who can't function in society and have so much behavioral difficulty that they need to be institutionalized. Sadly, mental health services have been cut drastically in the last three decades, and many people cannot get the care or guidance that they need.

Where Shadows Fall - Image c Lynda Lehmann

I've sometimes heard people say that there is beauty in ugliness. My interpretation is that in the duel, yin-yang nature of things, it's the ugly stuff that informs our consciousness and makes us lean, or strive, towards the light. And towards beauty, of course.

Many ramifications of duality lend themselves to discussion: the nature of paradox itself, good versus evil, the meaning and purpose of human institutions, our perceptions of the world, etc. What do you think? Do you ponder the contradictions of life? Are you comfortable with perceiving paradox? Or do you lean more towards absolutes--the black and white polarities--instead of standing with uncertainty in the "gray zone"?

All images and text c Lynda Lehmann. If you would like to view more of my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.