Kendra Brea Cooper
Looking at amusement park photographs creates an awkward anticipation of the kind of fun we might have based only on the bright colours and carefully layered maps. The line-ups are left out of the photos, making invisible the cut up time between the hours in line and the minutes on rides. There are huge roller coasters for a rush, and small simulation villages of what life might be like when every time is leisure time.
It's magic doesn't come from novelty characters, but from every fantasy story we've ever read. This makes it fit into your imagination, rather than forcing its imagination onto you.
Atlantic City Pier
Efteling Park is the largest theme park in the Netherlands. It doesn't try to draw you in with bright colours and lights, instead, it is the world of fantasy we all longed for as children.
Ghostly structures of a life partially lived are buried in the tall grasses of these abandoned theme parks. China's Wonderland is an empty kingdom with this castle resting far below the clouds.
Nara Dreamland will exist in the "once upon a time" tales of past generations.
Alex MacLean takes shots of amusement parks from high in the sky. They look like board games by design. These parks are made to capture your movements and guide you from spot to spot with organized fun. This one is part of Universal Studios.
This roller coaster resembles the spine of a large and ancient animal.
The Windows of the world theme park offers mini representations of big deals around the world, including New York City with the WTC towers still intact. These kinds of theme parks create a specific conversation about the world by what they include as what is "important" to look at, and also by what is left out.
Coney Island needs no introduction. It's legacy has lead it right into the artistic photo realm as it provides a remarkable, and well known landscape. It has played the part as background scenery some where in the history of most New Yorkers.
Pop culture and all that ideology sitting in the blind spot. Also crafts.
