Ryan Fitzer

This image is of a rooftop surface in Queens, NY I shot 2 or 3 years back. I take a lot of photos which act as a sketchbook entry. In my case, images usually do a better job of bringing back whatever it is I was thinking about at the time much better than words.

I took this image to remind me of something I wanted to make in the future. What troubles me is that I’m not sure if I could add anything to this. The image was just meant to illustrate and inspire a new work based on the ideas I’ve been working with for the past few years. But I have yet to make it. Every time I think I’m ready, I lose faith in what I could add to this image that I didn’t already experience. To me, it’s beautiful. Not necessarily as a photograph, but in it’s actual physical existence. Of course no one else was there so I can only offer you my description.

I think the line is self explanatory. The material used to layer this roof was a gray rubber. When walking on it I felt like I was not walking on a hard, inanimate structure, but something softer and more forgiving. Something between a gym mat and an entryway area rug, the type you could expect to find in the entryway of your average business. I guess what I am trying not to say is that it felt like skin. There was a feeling of wrongness while walking on it. Maybe it was because I was up on the roof illegally (I was later kicked off), I’m not sure.

In any case, I still think about what I keep this image around for. I’ve already researched where I could get the materials, so lack of resources isn’t stopping me. Maybe it’s just a simple lack of understanding.