That’s an interesting observation and notes a form of escapism amongst the people you are talking about.

What I find in such images of decay is the exact opposite – I find that, when done well, they reveal our own mortality – they hold a mirror up to our temporary state and ask questions about what we as the viewer, are adding to the world. Are we adding stuff that will simply rot and disappear, or are we adding stuff of real and lasting value?

Imagine the pride that would have been taken in the surroundings of the above pictures when they were new – how the people involved in creating those surroundings would have looked upon their new and shiny offerings to the world with excitement… and here they are years on, abandoned and rotting – a testament of what was and a chronicle of our own finiteness.

When looked upon with open eyes, such decay does not allow us the fleeting comfort of escapism, it instead provides a window to the mortality of humanity. The question is, what are we going to do in the face of our mortality? How are we going to use our lives?

It’s doubly unfortunate because they don’t want to go back to a slightly earlier time, when New York was still thriving, though gritty. The dystopia is more romantic, thanks to punk and Taxi Driver and such. It’s also real to younger people: some even saw it first hand.

Your images are quietly exquisite – not what these urbanites are looking for.