The Independent featured a series of before-and-after photos from photographer Lois Hechenblaikner‘s book Off Piste: An Alpine Story that show “how skiing changed the Alps” during the last few decades. One juxtaposition: a black-and-white photo of a backyard hen house next to a “Happy Chicken” fast-food joint. [%comments]
What Skiing Did to the Alps
TAGS: photography, Sports
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So, in the old days they were working themselves to death, they believed in supernatural beings and they had no time nor money for fun. Today they live longer, they have a lot of fun, and they don’t have to worry about going to bed hungry.
To me that seems like a very positive development.
In Colorado, we’ve just moved the traditional to towns like Alma and Fairplay (real-world South Park) and bulldozed the bases of the ski areas to make room for condos and souvenir shops in what’s left of the old buildings. Trick is to go far enough above treeline to leave all that behind.
Amusing and creative, but not very insightful. Juxtaposting the best of the past with the worst of the present, Hechenblaikner tries to convince us that in the alps there was no sex and no commerce before 1950. On the other hand, the environmental impact of skiing (cutting trees, erosion) is not shown.
Holme has it exactly right. We are supposed to be upset that they used to be poor and are rich now.
There are still so many places in the world were people are dirt poor, so if some people want to experience that, they have ample opportunity. Thus, transferring some areas out of poverty is clearly good, and it’s just sad that people think this isn’t good. Do note that the number of poor people in the world who think this move from poverty to riches is bad is exactly zero.
Why do we care so much about the “agrarian myth”? Do we really think farmers of old had so much better time than we do? Is tourism and leisure really worse than hard labor?
Not only would those farmers probably not agree with the agrarian myth, those who use it to make some sort of moral argument are usually doing so hypocritically and not serving a positive purpose.
Maybe the photographer should give up his lens in favor of a plough if he thinks farming is so great.
Did Ms. Hechenblaikner even look for remnants of the “old Europe.” My experience has been that resorts are one thing, but only a few kilometers away things resemble the 1940s as much as they resemble the 2000s.
The photos would have more impact if they showed a yesterday and today view of the same areas. At least then you would be comparing apples to apples.
Maybe the photographer should give up his lens in favor of a plough if he thinks farming is so great.
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@ zach
Nice sentiment.
The ‘love it or leave it – I’ll beat you up if you criticize it’ school of thought…. really nice … Go sell some credit default swaps… jeez.
Of course the camera lens holds bias, and yes B&W vs. color will play into that, but the point here is that all change brings unintended consequence. Take it for what it is.