You Can Never Go Back

[Bob Rogers]

You Can Never Go Back
Bob Rogers
​

I was in Northern Virginia the other day and the weather was dreary and all these old buildings looked so ominous. I conceived of them as a B&W triptych and the title just came to me. The central building was most recently a children's psychiatric hospital; I'm not sure what it was originally -- perhaps an orphanage. I'm not sure what the building on the right is -- perhaps a hospital or an asylum. The way the balconies are iron cages is really creepy.

The title is sort of a reference to the past not necessarily being as good as we sometimes like to believe.

The print is 13x36 inches (330 x 914 mm). My printer makes the darks darker and the grays lighter.

 

[Jarmo Juntunen]

There certainly is something creepy about these buildings. At first glance I thought there was too much space but after revisiting a couple of times I think they're just perfect as they are. Now there's a good sense of isolation.

 

[Asher Kelman]

You Can Never Go Back
Bob Rogers
​

Yes, it's ominous, but so effective. I'd have never framed like that but it works so well to give a unified sense of some dark period. I'd think one could print this a little larger to make sure that the caged balconies are clearly seen.

Asher

 

[Bob Rogers]

Thank you for the feedback. 36 inches is convenient because the paper is 36 inches wide. If I go bigger than 48 it gets tricky to cut. Unless I go to 36" tall. Hmmm. Then it would be about 9 feet long. I don't think I have a space to display that.

But I think you're right about the detail. It is visible in the print, but only if one looks carefully. Here is what that portion looks like:

I think I might want to crop the right hand panel a little to make the grass aligned with the center.