There was far too much navel-gazing shite - we've removed it. This is by far his worst read Blog post you know - only 18 readers in over a week, so we've cut the fluff and on with the show.
Now this is a statement of fact, but (whisper it) there's someone works for Dundee City Council Graphics Department, who is fond of big heads.
Honest - it sounds bizarre doesn't it, but it is true.
For years they've appeared on hoardings and advertising for the Council and to be honest, they're utterly surreal.
Strange thing is, they look kind of ordinary too, melding into the general scene so you're not really aware of them too much. This was certainly the case with me, but when I started looking at them properly, I found them hilarious, sadly missing out on many generations of different heads through sheer lack of observancy.
Anyway, here's a semi-recent one from the Seabraes; a slowly changing white elephant area with a modern "wtf-does that mean?" subtitle of "Digital Hub". It occupies an area that used to be a maze of tenements, railway lines and coal yards (long since demolished and dug-up).
This particular Big Head was (for a while) the thrusting modern face of Digital Dundee advertising "Dundee's Creative Media District" but sadly he became a magnet for vandals and was eventually almost entirely defaced by very very very tall graffiti artists and was then, two Winter's back, wrenched free by a powerful storm.
I found half his face in some bushes afterwards - he'd landed safely, in between some lovingly coiled dog muck.
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| The Man From Seabraes Yards (Nikon F2, 35mm F2 Nikkor) |
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| The Man From Seabraes Yards (Wista DX, 203mm Ektar) |
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| The Other Side Of The Man From Seabraes Yards [This Is The Rear Side Of The Hoarding] (Leica M2, 50mm Elmar) |
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| The Skeleton Of The Man From Seabraes Yards [After He Was Wrenched Free, This Earlier Poster Was Underneath] (Leica M2, Canon 50mm) |
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| Death Of The Man From Seabraes Yards (Koni Omega Rapid, 90mm Super Omegon) |
I suppose I developed a relationship with this stupid hoarding because it was so interesting. and now he's been replaced by a very nice bridge!
He used to occupy the space where the crane is to the right of the picture below.
And this is the completed bridge - its made quite a difference to a hard-to-get-to area, but I still miss The Man.
He used to occupy the space where the crane is to the right of the picture below.
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| Seabraes Bridge, Dundee |
And this is the completed bridge - its made quite a difference to a hard-to-get-to area, but I still miss The Man.
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| Seabraes Bridge Completed |
Anyway, On With The Future.
The photographs below are all courtesy of the Council Graphics Department (God Bless 'Em!). They are so Stepford Wives like in their plasticity and sinister falseness I had to photograph them.
Luckily they're getting quite vandalised now, so I can see this as an on-going thing till the new hotel (!) and station (!!) is built.
They were made with the 500Cm and the 60mm CB Distagon - quite the most remarkable lens I have ever used. They're real prints too - printed at Grade 4 on ancient Agfa MCC paper. Developer was Fotospeed which does a great job, and they were archivally processed and given a final toning in Selenium for good measure.
Sadly the scanning has washed them out a bit, but the full nuance of greys are there in the originals . . you'll just have to pop around and see them . . . remember to bring some biscuits.
I'll say TTFN now, simply because Blogger won't let me add any more text at the bottom of the page . . . TTFN.
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| "I Love It Here! Really . . . I Do . . . Don't I?" |
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| "Me Too. It's Great And Can Only Get Better With The New V&A Dundee" |
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| "You Ain't Seen Me . . . Right?" |
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| "They Can Be Just Like Us, Can't They Darling" |
