A Thing for Shadows

"And there may be some who argue that if beauty has to hide its weak points in the dark it is not beauty at all" (Tanizaki, Junichiro. In Praise of Shadows. Stony Creek, Connecticut: Leete's Island Books, 1977.) Like Tanizaki, I believe that shadows present depth. Light, as Americans (and all Westerners use it) becomes a bleaching sterilizer. An ideal American room could be a hospital room -- white, evenly lit, uniform throughout, and devoid of shadows and depth. Another, similar room could be a cell in an asylum. Americans have fetishized light to a point where an overabundance in all aspects of every day is seen as normal. Too much light forces our eyes to work harder, with our pupils shut way down, and brings on eye strain and fatigue quickly. It robs what we see of depth and character. And so, today, we look at photos which praise shadows and in which shadows become the central actor in each picture.


San Francisco Public Library, Mission Bay Branch.


Fourth and King Muni stop. I liked that the shadows make a train track for the Muni light rail stop at Caltrain.


Leasing.


Cherry blossoms in their tree's shadow.


Willie Mays Silhouette.