Images of New England
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You would think this frosted glass – in a corridor at a long abandoned state psych hospital – would have been much too stimulating for residents walking by, but who knows?
There may have been some who actually looked forward to the view, if only to bring a little magic into the oppressive realities of institutional life.
Myself, I can’t stay with it long, which is one of the reasons I shot it with a lot of black on the bottom and side.
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Norwich Hospital opened its doors in October 1904 as the “Norwich State Hospital for the Insane”, and remained operational until October 10, 1996. At its height, the patient population, individuals who were deemed “mentally ill”, reached 3184 in 1955. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, with over forty contributing buildings.
Many community based agencies picked up the task of caring for these individuals as treatment philosophies (and medications) shifted over the years. Sometimes, a court order was necessary for the states to begin “deinstitutionalizing” patients, that is, providing the resources to effectively treat mental health issues closer to home.
I was with one such CT agency in the 1990’s (and also did similar work in MA in the 1980’s), that helped some of these Norwich Hospital residents settle back into their home towns. It was oftentimes difficult work, made easier by incredibly talented colleagues, and in the end, richly rewarding.
So here I am, driving by this hospital today, and of course I had my camera, so I visited some of the buildings. Might be worth the effort to continue photographing there, though I’m sure many people have recorded the fallen grandeur of the place. Matthew Christopher for one has some amazing images at his website here, which are also compiled into one of his books here.
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A few months after I bought my first digital camera – a Canon 20D more than a decade ago – I took it out for a spin at dusk, with a tripod, to see what it could do.
There were/are many reasons to embrace digital, but initially, the biggest one for me was in the instant feedback via the LCD screen, a whole new technology for cameras. Thus I could shoot to my heart’s content (no film, very cheap, another reason), and rework my compositions till I found some keepers.
My old friend Dennis Stock, who was about 80 years old at the time, initially turned me on to digital; he let me borrow a consumer digital that someone had let him use. Early digital had its limitations though, so I didn’t jump in till a year later, when the technology and the price became incredibly attractive.
Haven’t looked back.
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This photo was taken a year ago, but the fraying flag seems to have a different resonance now, given the political winds blowing through our homes and neighborhoods, all across the land.
If there’s any upside to the recent election results here, it’s that many of us are working out new paradigms for being a citizen – and a human being – in these challenging times. Digging deeper for inspiration and information,* and at the same time reaching for the longer view, if you will.
Unfortunately (spoiler alert), we’ve been here before. History is replete with profoundly difficult circumstances, no matter the time or culture.
Perhaps not altogether unrelated, I’ve found myself back in the 13th century with Genghis Khan and the beginnings of the Mongol Empire. It started rather innocuously;** my eye catching a new title on display in a local library, “Genghis Khan and the Quest for God” by Jack Weatherford, which explores the remarkable notion that Genghis Khan allowed freedom of worship to all those he conquered, AND that this approach to governance found its way to Europe and eventually the American colonies.
Then it was off to the races with the first three of Conn Iggulden’s five volume work of historical fiction on Genghis and his empire.
And finally the historian Frank McLynn’s amazing biography, Genghis Khan: His Conquests, His Empire and His Legacy, a remarkably detailed and sometimes overwhelming account of the man, with over 100 pages (!!!) of bibliography and footnotes and a wonderful photo of present day Mongolian horsemen by Rick Sammon worked onto the front cover.
Yes there is a rise and fall of civilizations, with remarkably similar stories. Explore any one and you’ll probably understand them all.
* The New Yorker has some suggestions here.
** Actually it started in high school; our athletic teams were nicknamed the “ Golden Horde”. I knew then it had something to do with the Mongols, but only recently understood the specifics: the Golden Horde was the name given to the successors of Genghis that ruled the northwestern most regions of the Mongol empire after his death.
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And then, when the season is the coldest, a gentle snow falls, leaving behind a soft white blanket and a quiet stillness that reminds us – when we are most apt to forget – of the beauty of a New England winter.
The tree here I have not yet ID’ed, but I did see it had some soft tan catkins the other day. There were three (!!) bird nests visible in its branches last winter – a veritable condo complex.
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Still working on that simple, elegant koan of a metaphor – our mind is like the sky and our thoughts merely clouds passing through.
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Two of the youngest participants in the Old Saybrook ‘Sister March’, which drew over 1000 people from the area on 1/21. These gals – Ella and Sophia – were the photo op stars of the event.
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