Ruins photography
Ruins photography is a genre that focuses on capturing images of abandoned and decaying structures, such as buildings, monuments, and industrial sites. This style emphasizes the aesthetic and historical significance of these sites, often reflecting their former functions and the lives that once occupied them. While the photographs can evoke a sense of nostalgia and curiosity about urban decay, the genre is also embedded in controversy, with some critics labeling it "ruins porn." This term suggests that such photography may exploit the poverty or neglect associated with these sites rather than serve purely artistic or socially conscious purposes.
Historically, ruins photography has roots extending back to the 19th century, with early practitioners like Louis Vignes and Jacob Riis documenting both ancient and modern decay. The contemporary movement gained momentum through the work of photographers like Camilo José Vergara, who meticulously recorded urban decline across American cities. While the practice can raise awareness about social issues and environmental impacts, it also faces criticism for potentially sensationalizing poverty and for the safety risks involved in exploring derelict areas. Photographers in this field come from diverse backgrounds, using their images for personal, social, or commercial reasons, thus contributing to a complex dialogue around the implications of ruins photography.
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Ruins photography
Ruins photography is a style of photography that captures buildings, monuments, and other abandoned structures that are disintegrating from neglect. While it can refer to photography of any dilapidated structure, ruins photography is usually used specifically for photography of portions of modern cities that are abandoned and decaying. Also known as ruins porn and abandoned porn, this photographic movement is popular but can be controversial.
Ruins have captured the imagination for centuries and remain favorite subjects of painters. Many people are interested in seeing photos of crumbling buildings and imagining how and why they came to be in that state. Others consider the photos to be exploitative. Some also criticize the photographers who capture these images when they do so illegally or enter dangerous areas.
Background
The earliest cameras were invented in the 1820s. Improvements to the technology continued over the next two centuries. For example, by the 1860s, the wet plate method was in use. This involves plates of glass coated with chemicals and exposed to light to capture images. Though the method was difficult and the cameras cumbersome, photographers began using them to capture a wide variety of images, including ruins.
Some of the earliest ruin photographs were taken by Louis Vignes (1831–1896), a French naval officer and archaeologist. His photos of the Roman Empire-era ruins at Palmyra in Syria in 1864 are the first known photographic images of the site. In the decades following, photographers took many other photographs of ancient ruins, capturing images of historic sites before they disintegrated further.
One of the first people to systematically take photos of modern ruins-in-progress was Jacob Riis (1849–1914). Born in Denmark, Riis was a social reformer who used photography to capture images of the homes and neighborhoods of people experiencing poverty in New York City in the 1880s. He used the earliest form of flash photography to show the dismal way people lived, crowded into rundown apartments. His images of falling apart buildings in run-down neighborhoods were instrumental in promoting the social reform movements that led to laws and codes to protect people in dwellings.
The modern movement of taking photos of urban ruins is generally attributed to the influence of Camilo José Vergara (1944—). Born in Santiago, Chile, Vergara moved to New York and took photos of many crumbling urban sites across America. Vergara built on the work of Riis and others but focused on the buildings and structures themselves as examples of urban decay.
Vergara’s work focuses on large American urban locations such as New York City; Newark, New Jersey; Detroit, Michigan; Chicago, Illinois; and Los Angeles, California. In multiple visits, Vergara captured both photographic and written records of abandoned areas. The images document how these areas changed and evolved over time. His work was published in two books during the 1990s, The New American Ghetto (1995) and American Ruins (1999). These books helped generate interest in urban ruin photography. Numerous other works were published over the next several decades, and both professional and amateur photographers continued to take photos of abandoned structures around the world.
Ruins photography is sometimes known as ruins porn. The term is attributed to American photographer James Griffioen (1977—). He used the term because he thought some photographers took photos of urban decay sites in Detroit to exploit them for their own gain instead of for artistic or social justice purposes.
Overview
Ruins photography is the photographic capture of some aspect of an abandoned and decaying human-made structure. Individual houses, apartments, industrial sites such as factories, hospitals, schools, amusement parks, and shopping areas are common subjects. The photography may document the outside of the structure and its setting or the interior. Many photographers are especially interested in buildings that still have some of their contents, such as household goods, books, and supplies that were part of the structure’s original function. The structures are often in bad shape but hold signs of their former use. Images of these structures capture signs of what was important to the people who lived there or otherwise what was used by them. These images show whether people meant for these structures to be lasting or temporary, as well as reflect the style, financial status, and priorities of their designers or occupants.
While ruins photography is most associated with large urban cities, its subjects can be anywhere. Abandoned homes, barns, small stores, and gas stations along country roads in rural areas have also been featured in published ruins photography. Some photographers focus on mechanical ruins, such as abandoned and rusting vehicles. Others concentrate on a particular type of structure, such as medical facilities, schools, or industrial sites.
Ruins photographers come in all ages and from all walks of life. Some take the photos for their own collections or to share on social media, while others record what they see for publication or other purposes. Like Riis and other reformers of the past, some ruins photographers hope to prompt social change. They may be focused on documenting the impoverished conditions in certain areas, drawing attention to the effects of neglected areas on the environment, or highlighting wasteful public expenditures. Another possible use of ruins photography is to generate interest in an area for tourism purposes.
As ruins photography has grown in popularity, the movement has generated criticism. Some critics say it is exploitive and draws too much negative and insensitive attention to poverty-stricken areas, where older structures are more likely to be abandoned to decay. The critics note that in some cases, the photographers are profiting financially from putting poor communities and the people who live there on display in sensationalized ways.
Another criticism of the movement is that its participants enter dangerous situations to get their photos. The abandoned buildings can have hazardous structural issues, such as holes in floors, collapsing roofs or ceilings, or missing staircases. They can also contain rusted metal, hazardous chemicals, and other risks. In addition, many ruins of interest are located on private property. Photographers who enter them are trespassing and breaking the law.
Bibliography
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Mele, Christopher. “Urban Explorers Give Modern Ruins a Second Life.” The New York Times, 27 July 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/07/27/us/abandoned-properties-to-explore.html. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
Orvell, Miles. Empire of Ruins: American Culture, Photography, and the Spectacle of Destruction. Oxford University Press, 2021.
Patman, Brett. “Beauty in Ruins: The Wonder of Abandoned Buildings – A Photo Essay.” The Guardian, 11 May 2019, www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/may/12/beauty-in-ruins-the-wonder-of-abandoned-buildings-a-photo-essay. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
Polugar, Shannon. “Ruins Porn: The Line Between Fascination and Exploitation.” Academy of Art University, 15 Sept. 2017, artulens.com/ph-692/2017/9/13/ruins-porn-the-line-between-fascination-and-exploitation-hxpbc. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
Reitman, Matthew. “Earliest Known Photos of Syrian Ruins of Palmyra Featured in Online Exhibit.” Inside Hook, 18 Feb. 2017, www.insidehook.com/article/art/earliest-known-photographs-of-embattled-syrian-ruins-of-palmyra-displayed-in-online-exhibit. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
Rexer, Raisa. “On Seeing and Believing: The Ruins of Paris, National Identity and Experiential Photography.” Nineteenth-Century French Studies, vol. 49, no. 3, 2021, pp. 305–328, doi:10.1353/ncf.2021.0011. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
Silver, Leigh. “15 Things You Need to Know about Ruin Porn.” Complex, 18 Aug. 2013, www.complex.com/style/2013/08/ruin-abandonded-photography. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
“When Was Photography Invented? A Complete Guide to the Discipline.” Ripe Insurance, 31 Jan. 2021, www.ripeinsurance.co.uk/photography/the-edit/when-was-photography-invented/. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.