Old Glass
I started this series of photos in 2019 while on my walks near the Lightrail Train Station in Hoboken., New Jersey. Commuters come and go from the station and are always rushing to their destination. They are mostly oblivious to the beautiful views that can be seen from the train station around them.
The old glass was put in the station’s dividing platforms to protect commuters from the winds that come off the Hudson River. The glass had certain transformative properties which when seen in a good light could render a person or object as an entirely new entity.
I slowly started to let the light transform my subjects through the glass and by shifting the camera in different ways it let me see the new patterns and subjects emerge.
It was as if the images were obscured before and only came into focus through the wonderful curved old glass. As I pursued my quest of seeing through the glass lightly I began to see Dali and Van Gogh and the world of surreal impressions that emerged through the glass. I wondered how many modern masters like Van Gogh had used the eye glasses they wore to see things differently through old glass.
Barbara Beeman
