“This world is of a single piece; yet, we invent nets to trap it for our inspection. Then we mistake our nets for the reality of the piece. In these nets we catch the fishes of the intellect but the sea of wholeness forever eludes our grasp. So, we forget our original intent and then mistake the nets for the sea.
Three of these nets we have named Nature, Mathematics, and Art. We conclude they are different because we call them by different names. Thus, they are apt to remain forever separated with nothing bonding them together. It is not the nets that are at fault but rather our misunderstanding of their function as nets. They do catch the fishes but never the sea, and it is the sea that we ultimately desire.”
When making this photo I’d noticed a changing of architectural styles or ages as you moved further back on this street or alleyway. Within a couple of city blocks, it begins with classical Italian structure, outside plumbing, spaghetti wiring, and hanging wash, transitioning to newer more contained but less traditionally stylish buildings and finally ending with modern shiny marble and a chrome/glass outdoor bullet elevator. A brief travel through history and time.
This made me think of how my own life experiences or memories have accumulated…the newer ones layered on top of or outside of previous older ones but each ‘structure’ continuing to be a contributing part of a whole, be it myself or a town.
Small similarities noticed almost daily resulting in a smile and wonder of what if anything it might mean…grasping at straws and being aware often in my thinking I’m catching “fish” and seeing the net when it’s the “sea” I desire.
I haven’t seen this described in this way before, but it makes sense. Another version of forest vs. trees metaphor perhaps? The ways we use one net to understand another is quite an interesting topic, one could sit for hours thinking about the possibilities. When the sea then expands to the universe, it seems overwhelming for our small minds.
The photo has a nice Caribbean feel to me for the coloration. Probably not what you were going for. :-)
Endless possibilities for sure, Mark. But I do agree we (I) sometimes construct “nets” from our expectations so it becomes somewhat a self-fulfilling outcome.
Let me just be honest and say upfront I’m not sure what I was “going for” in this photo. :-) I didn’t change the colors in the above photo, just increased the saturation. I see similarities between Caribbean and Mediterranean (Spain, Italy, etc.) coastal towns. They share many of the same warm tones and some architecture.
In our quest to pin names and attributes on everything, the risk of losing sight of the bigger picture is ever present. The wave rises up from the surface and in its euphoria of separation forgets its source.
In any case, I do like this picture and its colours. The purple tinge of the street against the intense rainbow colours of the buildings and the equally striking blue of the sky make for a truly engaging and uplifting experience. I like the melding of old and new. I am not the nostalgic type so I do not tend to mind the replacement of the former with the latter but I do enjoy it all the more when the two are brought together. It creates a lovely contrast of aesthetics and brings with it an enchanting encapsulation of time into the present moment.
Thanks Earl.
It seems in the U.S. we often raze the old in order to build the new unless someone or some group has declared the old historical.
While in many cases the old can no longer serve a purpose, I do enjoy when there can be harmony between the two. Thanks and take care, Cedric.
Well done image, Earl. This is a journalistic image that tells us a story without words. All this reminds me of a cartoon where a couple are standing at some beautiful scene. He is standing in awe of the scene while she is trying to get him to look at the photo of the scene she just took on her phone. Do I want the photo to take home or do I want the impact of standing in awe?
In this case, I was a bit of both the characters from your related cartoon, Monte. I both appreciated this scene at the moment and thankfully had the time and thought to make this photo. Thanks my friend…stay warm.