Research Essay

by dmarin on April 17, 2024.

Within this Research Essay/Paper I discuss the importance and failings of my town’s efforts to maintain and renew facilities ranging from recreational, historical, and general infrastructure.

Task 4 Artist Statement

by dmarin on April 3, 2024.

About the artist: My name is David Marin, I’m a 2nd year Stony Brook university student who has transferred schools 2 now. I have a focus on photography and painting, and want to express myself through my work, only now am I taking small steps towards that.

Gen practice: I tend to focus on photographing the daily movement of life, I’m currently working on a personal project series based entirely around my daily commute, and have done some photography on the life of Stony Brook students.

About the project: My current documentary project focuses around the lack of care towards older buildings in the Riverhead township area. I want to highlight the lack of interest and care given to the history and life of my town, and wish to illustrate it through photographing these dilapidated buildings. To contrast the disheveled architecture, photographs of Riverhead township’s newer structures in progress and recently finished will be present to showcase the direction of town leadership to, instead of repurposing and refurbishing buildings or the land they sit on, they decide to approve the tear-down of untouched and forested land.

Within the specific context of the project and of my work I intend to push the function of building reform through documentation in the town.

Project 1

by dmarin on April 3, 2024.

Photographic Documentary: Price of development

To preface:

This project is based around the mismanagement of Riverhead town’s funding and the cost it has on the town become manifest in the form of dead buildings, some of which bearing historical significance, all of which making it clear where priorities lie.

Tenement structure in Riverside left to rot

Fact: For businesses and development in Riverhead Town, $2.7 Million dollars of funding was granted to exempt said businesses and developers of property taxes. These $2.7 Million dollars were taken from local school funding.

“Sound Investments pt 1”

Dealerships pt 1

Dealerships pt 2

“Sound investments pt 2”

Fact: Riverhead Town offered one local business “Somewhere in the ballpark of $8-9 Million for the building” to push forward the town’s town hall project on Main Street. For this project, NYS gave the town of Riverhead $10 Million dollars in a grant.

Last remaining original Riverhead power plant, historical site set to be demolished

Apartments in polish town left to decay

Building in polish town, receiving some construction work

Fact: In 2021, Riverhead’s recreation department had a total $121,545 for funding. Renewal projects for the department’s parks exceeds this in most cases.

Unleased building in polish town pt 1

Unleased building in polish town pt 2

New apartments pt 2

New apartments pt 1

Fact: The largest attraction in Riverhead Town, Long Island Aquarium, is exempt $1Million dollars in property taxes a year. It has been since 1999 and will be until 2031.

“Old investments”

Task 3: Project Proposal

by dmarin on February 28, 2024.

My current idea for the major project in documentary art is as follows: survey my town and/or Suffolk county more generally, find broken down, overgrown, burnt, crumbling and otherwise significantly damaged and destroyed structures/buildings, find records/photographs/videos of these buildings, and recreate them in the present with the available photographic and video recording equipment to compile a record of before & after. While I am not entirely sure of the message of the project quite yet, I believe this is a worthwhile project to pursue, even simply in the name of historical comparison and archiving of the past to the present day, as I am enamoured by history and so wish to be able to see it in front of me.

Outcomes:

Find and photograph dilapidated buildings in the Riverhead township area
Write out brief complimentary statements regarding the photographs and their bearing on the project
Compile all photographs and other media on a webpage as a historical archive
Total out amount of photographs/video/other related media to around 10 to 15

Materials:

Digital camera(s)
Various news sites, interviews, hearsay
Car to be getting from place to place

Methods:

Still photography
Essay writing
Creation of a website to compile information (google personal site or SBYou journal)

Time Schedule:

1-2 weeks location scouting
1 week or less for research
2-3 weeks for photography/video capture

Research references:

Baltz Lewis/New Topographics in the way that buildings are cleanly but coldly photographed
Frederick Sommer’s photographs of death/decay and the Arizona desert for the intention/meaning behind the photographs
General photographic conservation efforts, example: https://exhibits.library.gsu.edu/a-race-against-time/photographic-legacy-importance-of-documenting-the-past/