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Thursday, April 13, 2006

Look up, way up


For as long as I can remember, I've had this habit: I stand on the sidewalk, tilt my head way back, and stare up the sides of tall buildings. The differential sense of scale seems at once awe-inspiring and humbling - an interesting combination.

So when I was in Dallas a couple of weeks ago, I found myself doing a lot of looking up while walking to and from the various conference events. Note to self: this behavior is potentially injurious to life and limb; ensure you are NOT moving before looking skyward. Stay away from traffic, too.

I like this image because it suggests otherwise-anonymous examples of post-modern boxes can actually be interesting to look at if you take the right perspective. There's just something captivating about the geometry of these two forms.

Your turn: What do you see when you look up?
Your turn: Can you place the childhood television show roots of the title of this entry?

12 comments:

  1. The cement building gives your eye something to grasp on the way up as one looks, the glass building just gives you surface. There is distinction between the two mediums. It's almost like one could "climb" the tower to the sky. I don't know the reference, but come by my blog and read tonight's entry.
    (that's some shamelss plugging isn't it?)

    May your Passover Holiday be blessed and sacred.

    Peace,
    Jeremy

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  2. Right now - I look up and see nothing more than the ceiling of my cruddy apartment, which is, blessedly, silent as we have no upstairs tenants as of yet.

    But I love "looking up" in Germany. The architecture is so amazing here, the colors, the churches, it's all so amazing. I often take "look up" pictures, but my husband thinks I'm weird!

    I can't place the reference, though!

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  3. I like your photo, but it reminded me of when my kids were in college. We live in a major east coast city. They would bring friends home. some from much smaller home towns. More than one of them fell off a curb or walked into traffic becasue they were looking up at the tall buildings.

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  4. I'm glad you photograph that POV. I get dizzy when I look up at the tall buildings. Just like when I look down from the top. So I tend to miss it. (talk about falling into traffic)

    Have a great Passover! Have you ever done plague bags for the kids?

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  5. I appreciate anything that gives me a new persective on my surroundings. Like lying on my back under my dining room table, or standing out in the shed during a rain storm to see and "hear" the house from a different angle.

    Romper Room?

    Blessings on Passover.

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  6. THE FRIENDLY GIANT!!...I used to love that show way way back in a distant past lol
    I love how the building on the right, seems to blend into that geometric patern...u know what I mean I hope lol

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  7. The Friendly Giant! I was trying to remember the theme song just now, but it's been temporarily replaced by Mr. Dressup.

    And I've been looking up a lot this morning, seeking inspiration for a particularly challenging project. I've got ceiling tiles and fluorescent lights, which are not providing the creative spark I need.

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  8. The Friendly Giant... Look up look waaayy up.. I use to love that show.

    I too love to look up at tall buildings, however the one time I was doing so. I walked right into a sign. SLAM!! Yeah Okay it was funny, but the lady cop that saw me didn't need to laugh THAT hard..

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  9. When I went to Manhattan once, I remember being terrified for some reason looking up at the tall buildings. We don't have buildings of that kind of heighth and concentration in L.A. Talk about feeling like the country mouse!

    I look up now and I see the arch which delineates my dining room from the living room. One side is one color, the other side another. I have no idea what colors they are but they look good together.

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  10. I love this shot! I like to look at the sky. I love looking up inside tunnels!

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  11. LOL! Carmi, as a child growing up within driving distance of New York City, I was told by I can't even begin to tell you how many different people - when you're in the city, don't look up at the tall buildings around you. It's the surest sign your a tourist. Perhaps they were the more cynical of our species. Whatever, it stuck in my mind somewhere. I rarely do look up at buildings around me. I tend to look up at the buildings ahead of me so I can see the skyline without craning my neck.

    Maybe I'm a tad more cynical than I thought? Or perhaps just old habits die hard.

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  12. Hmmm--I used to walk alongside Tower One of the WTC twice a day. I often looked up like this at the bottom of one of the world's highest walls. It was staggering--especially the clouds at the end of the wall.

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