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Ars Subterranea: The Society for Creative
Preservation
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As part of our efforts to document America's rapidly vanishing ruins, Ars Subterranea presents the Garden of Crumbling Delights – a celebration of the beauty inherent in architectural decay. America's architectural landscape tends to be geared towards convenience rather than preservation. No matter the significant role they once played in their region's history, many abandoned structures are not rehabilitated but condemned to demolition. Invaded by the forces of nature, overgrown and ruptured, the ruins undergo a final blossoming. For us this last dialogue between architecture and environment promises a feast for the eye as well as the imagination. It is during those last years of a building's desolation that we come in and take stock of the stories inherent in the process of decay. The photos presented in this gallery are not merely intended as historic records. A ruin's broken stairs, crumbled smokestacks and forgotten artifacts have become the final reliquaries of its former purpose. A documentation of these relics might evoke imaginary histories as much as provide a public record of the building's past. Thus our photos also serve as an attempt to prolong the hedonistic experience of stumbling into a landscape filled with endless morbid possibilities. We have selected three photos on this theme from each participating photographer's collection. We will continue to add more artists and images to this gallery over time. The photos can be viewed in a comprehensive tour or by individual photographers:
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