TERRAIN VAGUE

''Terrain Vague' photographic series takes an intimate look at urban landscapes, influenced by the postmodern metropolitan condition as defined by Ignasi de Sola-Morales.

- PYGMALION KARATZAS

In contrast to the carefully designed and integrated urban projects, contemporary cities are also characterized by their obsolete and unproductive spaces, undefined, without specific limits. As such, they manifest as spaces of freedom and represent an anonymous reality outside the urban regeneration policies. The images were taken during my Fulbright Artist Scholarship project titled 'Integral Lens - a multi-perspectival approach to studying and representing the built environment' in 12 cities across the United States for 5 months. Project statistic: 9,600 miles flying, 4,200 miles driving, 1,300 miles public commuting, 750,000 steps walking, 12,000 still images were taken, 65,000 images in timelapse video, 150 buildings, and locations from 12 cities, 142 days on the road.

Different modes of transportation were used during this 5-month journey from city to city across the United States. The itinerary started in Knoxville, Tennessee, then New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Miami, New Orleans and returned to Knoxville.

While walking around and exploring these urban landscapes for the first time, I was reminded of Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities. Although there are many quotes from this unique and brilliant contemplation on urban living, I mention here one:

A tale is born from an image, and the image extends and creates a network of meanings that are always equivocal.