Again...I didn't read past the first half of the posts. People are repeating themselves and not focusing on what the real topic here is: THE PHOTOGRAPH. =[
While I agree all the comments insisting there were abuse and dreadful things happening in these facilities 24/7/365 are tiresome, I do not agree on the arrogant stance of some of my fellow healthcare workers. Of course most ppl not experienced in healthcare would assume horrible things always happened in these places. They are dark and mysterious and play with your head until you could actually believe the urban legends happened. Most ppl have an active imagination, and this type of art promotes the use of that imagination. Is this wrong? Not in my opinion. I for one am intelligent enough to weed through the myths and rumours for the more factual comments. I am assuming 3/4 of the other Opacity addicts are as well. (lets hope so). =]
As I stated before, your point of view is limited to a certain time period. But if you want to post a bunch of rambling "stuff" about how you KNOW what happened at this facilty because you worked there, be my guest. Apparently some ppl don't mind. I will draw my own conclusions and appreciate the photos for what they are: art. =]
Guess what? I didn't read all the posts after Lynne and Marcia's 3-4th post. Why? Because as a person that has worked in health care for over 20 years, much like themselves, I know better than to blabber on about "laymen" or ppl NOT experienced in healthcare. I have to admit I am upset. This is supposed to be a photography site. I came here to appreciate Motts photographs and enjoy his tour through places that I will never see with my own eyes. I didn't come to this site to read a bunch of arrogant one-sided CRAP about the decline or progression, depending on who you ask, of healthcare. No one has worked in every facility that Motts has photographed. Nor have they worked in them for all the years they were open. You can not take one workers insight/ view of a specific time period and assume it was that way for all those years. How would they know? They can't. This place could have been ghastly before that person worlked there. And how dare anyone judge a former patient's view of life in an institution. That narrow-mindedness is appalling. Please appreciate Motts "art" and let it speak for itself.
Um...I tend to agree that the "lazy, fat-assed nurses" comment was un-called for. I've worked in healthcare for 20 years. There are NO piece-of-cake jobs in nursing. Just surviving the stress of making life and death decisions is a job in itself. Anything to help make healthcare workers jobs easier is OK in my book.