Topic
urban magic
A collection of 6 issues
PIPING HOT SKY MUSHROOMS
When cultivated in darkness, enoki mushrooms spill outward into long, pale tendrils in a sprawl not unlike that of fireworks. At this stand, sponsored by the University Beneath St. Paul, they were being sold-tempura fried, then drenched in all manner of colorful sauces: red-orange calabrianero-chili buffalo, verdant pitcher plant nectar
ALLOCATION
Those who live out of suitcases learn to spend their evenings in bars. An endless tunnel of concourses, fuselages, trams, and front desks creates a dissociative environment where the realm of dreams provides more sure footing than any permanent address. There is no salvation from this state of mind in
A GOOD LUCK CHARM
She bounded back into the living room, her curls bouncing along the way. “Okay, so. This is one of my personal treasures. I don’t talk about this much, but I think you’ll understand why when you see it.”
She was cradling something swaddled in a blue blanket patterned
THE TROUBLE WITH SAN FRANCISCO
It looms over the city like the abandoned lance of some dead Cold War god; perhaps the hills beneath it were formed from his irradiated corpse. It is the only civic landmark as obviously visible as the bridge to its north.
This is by design. Sutro Tower, as it is
WINGS ON WALLS
When wandering through American cities, one will often find wings painted on walls, fully disconnected from a central body plan, yet anticipating their inevitable presence in photography. They are as diverse in their presentation as any lepidopterist’s collection of pinned specimens, aesthetically adapted to the character and conditions of