Palace Theater, Gary, Indiana Possibly 2008 - 2014

Andrew Moore’s photograph captures the Palace Theater in Gary, Indiana, its grandeur faded and reclaimed by time and decay. I imagine Moore wandering through this architectural ghost, his camera an extension of his eye, drawn to the textures of ruin and the ghosts of memory embedded in the walls. The peeling paint, the collapsed ceiling, and the rubble-strewn floor are not just signs of neglect, but also palpable evidence of a history slowly being erased. It’s interesting that the painted backdrop is quite intact. A painted Italianate villa, complete with palm trees. This makes me wonder about the relationship between the real decay and the fantasy. The contrast between the dream and the present reality—that's a kind of theater in itself. Moore’s work reminds me of painters like Gerhard Richter or even Gordon Matta-Clark, in its exploration of time, memory, and the poetics of destruction. I admire Moore’s eye, his lens transforming decay into something strangely beautiful.