Exploring The Shift
The shift is not a thing. It is the action of discovering Self.

I'm sort of going back to the roots of this blog, wanting to show the wondrous diversity of life in this particular dimension which we call planet earth.

BoingBoing linked to Polar Inertia today, with photo series by Christopher Herwig, documenting modern society. I'm just beginning to explore the site, but the series which was featured on boingboing, is one that I that I find particularly intriguing.

(image © Christopher Herwig)

I think you won't be able to guess what this is. It is not a Bauhaus art installation, but a bus shelter from the former Soviet Union.

The roadside bus stop serves a simple purpose – to show where the bus will stop and to provide some comfort and shelter for waiting passengers. One would think that the Soviets would have come up with one universal design for this community structure – simple, functional and cheap to mass produce. However, in many instances this was not the case, much time, effort and imagination went into many roadside bus stops. The sky was the limit with different shapes and design– blocks, domes, columns, towers, A-frames and archways, even ones shaped like birds, yurts and hats. If the bus stop was less bold and daring with its architectural design then the creators would often attract attention with decorating the structure with murals or mosaics. The themes that these decorated bus stops took usually varied depending on the region, often reflecting the local culture, history, or industries.

If you check the phots, make sure you view the whole series as some of the shelters may not be so stunning individually, but seeing the sheer creativity and variety is nothing but stunning, especially because of the eerie contrast of this variety in a society which would be associated with conformity and architectural blandness compared the uniformity of bus stops in western society, which focuses so much on individuality: Soviet Bus Shelters

I also like his series about Indian Rikshaw Mudflaps, which is also about overflowing creativity in transportation.