My Compendium of Concepts: The Stairs

Now that we have taken a little break, it is time to jump back in to the game. This week’s theme, which I know you are dying to know about, is stairs. Yes, that’s right, stairs. Of the multiple options, this one actually got my vote. The other ones weren’t bad, and I’m sure will turn up again. It’s just that there are so many pictures of stairs. For the most part, they are just something we take advantage of seeing every day. Thus, they are not automatically special. In most big buildings, there is always the option of stairs. Usually, they are the way out in case of a fire or emergency. Yet in this country, people usually take the elevator instead. I am not putting down elevators or the people that take them. I generally take the elevator myself. In the many articles I have read on tips and tricks to get healthy or lose weight (What woman doesn’t read those?), experts say a simple thing is to take the stairs. It is such a novel concept though. In this country, we have gotten used to the convenience of technology. So why would we walk up ten flights of stairs if we can just glide up effortlessly? Taking the elevator eliminates sweating, it takes less time, and for those who wear heels, it is less painful. After living in New York for two years, I have gotten used to walking everywhere. I even choose the stairs over the elevator more often. Don’t get me wrong; when I have to go to the seventeenth floor of a building I absolutely ride the elevator. But when it comes to a few flights or coming up from the subway, I generally take the stairs. Now the game this week has been interesting thus far. There were so many ways to take it. There are optical illusions, and famous paintings involving stairs. For example, the work of M.C. Escher entitled Relativity or the painting by Thomas Kinkade entitled Stairway to Paradise. Or perhaps each of us could have posted a real staircase that is famous. The Survivor’s Staircase from the World Trade Center comes to mind first. It is the last visible structure above ground level at the site where two planes hit the twin towers on September 11, 2001. Of course, there are dozens of pictures of stairs to choose from. Photographically, spiral staircases make for very interesting subjects. They are really cool to look at. There are also staircases in different places that could be significant. For example, today my aunt posted a photo of her on the steps at Union Square Park. This followed the theme, and meant something to her as well. There are also obvious photographic representations of sayings, songs, or ideas; the stairway to heaven being the most obvious. The song was recorded by Led Zeppelin and considered to be one of the best rock songs of all times. The concept can also be tied with the idea of an actual stairway leading us to heaven. This is what the pictures portray. There are many different ones out there, but they all show a staircase that climbs towards the sky and, the viewer is to assume, to heaven. This week’s theme had many interesting options to choose from. More often than not, I just went with pictures that looked interesting. There may be hidden meaning behind the photos that I chose, but for me the decisions were aesthetically based alone. I will attach some pictures for you to see. I hope you enjoy them, and stay tuned for my secondary theme of the week. Also, in the course of my research for this post, I came across another blog. This one is about stairs, and has an interesting post with fun facts. You should check it out when you leave here. The address is http://staircorner.blogspot.com/2009/10/stair-facts.html .