Ricky Davis 9/12/24 Ricky Davis 9/12/24

Walking the Grounds of Central State Hospital…An Abandoned Asylum.

Central State Hospital - Milledgeville, GA - The Ricky Davis Gallery

I recently had the privilege of getting to visit the campus of Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, GA. I call it a privilege because I love history and I love photographing old buildings, and the campus of Central State is full of history and old buildings. In this blog I’m going to share some of my photographs, with most likely more to come later as well, but I’m also going to share some of the history of CSH along with my experience walking the campus.

The Powell Building - Central State Hospital - Milledgevilla, GA - The Ricky Davis Gallery

The Georgia State Lunatic, Idiot, and Epileptic Asylum, as it was first called, accepted it’s first patient in 1842. It was also known as The Georgia State Sanitarium and Milledgeville State Hospital at different times, before changing it’s name to Central State Hospital. The hospital stayed open during the Civil War, and afterwards it housed some veterans who were left battling effects from PTSD, left homeless, or maimed during the war. I personally was very interested in this aspect of it’s history because of working on a Civil War History photo project as well. I was very curious if Sherman’s March to the Sea interfered with the hospital at all, but from what I’ve found, the Union Army did destroy much of Milledgeville, but they stayed away from the hospital.

Initially, the institution strived to pattern itself after a family model. Under Doctor Thomas A. Green, who served until 1879, the hospital abolished some of the general practices in mental institutions of the time such as physical restraints such as chains and ropes for patients, and even went so far as Dr Green and the staff eating meals with the patients. Even still, there were class disparities with wealthy patients receiving better treatment. In the years following the Civil War, the patient growth really began to make this model struggle under the amount of patients coming in, and it started to become more uniform in manner. In 1872 the hospital had a ratio of 112 patients per physician, and it accelerated from there as families started sending their unwanted to the hospital regardless of their health issues.

Windows at the Powell building - Central State Hospital - Milledgeville, GA - The Ricky Davis Gallery

The accelerating growth of patients began to cause serious overcrowding issues. Dr, Theophilus O. Powell, who was a noted psychiatrist and the Superintendent from 1879-1907, worked to construct new buildings for housing, but the construction couldn’t keep up with the overcrowding. It was during this time that the Asylum’s name changed to the Georgia State Sanitarium. Diseases spread through the patients, such as tuberculosis. The disease outbreaks caused the legislature to look into the management of the facility but even with the outbreaks, counties kept sending their unwanted to the facility.

Outside the Powell Building - Central State Hospital - Milledgeville, GA - The Ricky Davis Gallery

By 1929, the name was changed again, this time to Milledgeville State Hospital. The hospital had 5,000 plus patients at this time and the population of patients kept exploding. It was during the time that electro-convulsive therapy and insulin shock therapy became common to try to manage the patient explosion. More construction was planned and buildings built, but by the early 1940’s the population had escalated past 9,000 patients at the facility.

Walkway between two buildings - Central State Hospital - Milledgeville, GA - The Ricky Davis Gallery

By the late 1950’s, the population was 11,000 plus at the hospital. It was in 1959 that reporter Jack Nelson of the Atlanta Constitution, began publishing several articles investigating the hospital for abuse. The abuse ranged from experimental drugs being given to patients without their or their family’s consent, doctors and nurses being drunk on the job, and a nurse performing major surgery without supervision. Nelson would win a Pulitzer Prize for his work on these articles and the government demanded an investigation.

Brantley Building - Central State Hospital - Milledgeville, GA - The Ricky Davis Gallery

After the investigation, the state built six more mental state hospitals to disperse the load at Milledgeville and it was renamed to Central State Hospital. In 1968, the patients population dipped below 10,000 for the first time in decades. Throughout the next several decades, more budget cuts continued to happen and the hospital was more and more buildings to downsize. In 2007, the dept of Justice was called in to investigate 42 patient deaths which seemed suspicious, and in turn decided to close the facility in 2010.

The Walker Building - Central State Hospital - Milledgeville, GA - The Ricky Davis Gallery

During my visit, I arrived in the early afternoon because I got delayed by numerous traffic issues driving into town. I didn’t get to photograph a few of the buildings that I really wanted to because the lighting at that time of day just wasn’t great. The complex is just huge. The first buildings I drove by were being used by the Georgia Dept of Corrections and I believe the Georgia Military College. A few other buildings on the campus are being used by private companies I believe. The main area that I was able to walk around and check out was from the Powell Building and the surrounding buildings. The Powell building which is in several of the photographs at the top of this post, is stunning. It was based on the Capital building. It was huge! There was honestly no way to even get the whole building in my shot, and I tried from multiple angles, even shooting wide angled. Straight across the street is a greenway area with lots of trees and benches. As I was walking around, I was just trying to think about all the different things I’ve read so far about CSH. At it’s height it had nearly 13,000 patients, and an estimated over 25,000 patients died during their time there. The green park like area was huge, and I just thought about what it must’ve looked like back in the day when so many people were there. It was really kind of a suffocating feeling thinking about the enormity of it all.

The Green Building - Central State Hospital - Milledgeville, GA - The Ricky Davis Gallery

It’s impossible to know the kind of things that took place at this facility. I do believe that some of the people really cared about the patients, and wanted to do things well. But looking back on history in places like this and knowing the kinds of abuse that has taken place at other facilities, and what was documented taking place here, it’s heartbreaking. The fact that Central State Hospital was open for three centuries and at one point was the largest mental hospital in the United States, and that in 2007 they still had 42 patient deaths that had to be investigated by the Dept of Justice, that’s just astonishing to me. Sometimes we look back on history and think to ourselves at how much we’ve progressed from those days. These days were simply 14 years ago when it was shut down.

The Central Chapel - Central State Hospital - Milledgeville, GA - The Ricky Davis Gallery

Now the talk has become about demolishing several of the buildings. There’s been a plan put out to rename the campus. Talk about what can we use the land for and get rid of these decaying buildings. In reality it’s let’s get rid of the past, let’s hide our history. Too many times I think we are hiding our past, trying to erase unpleasant parts of our history. We need these reminders. We need to see what was done before us, and remember not to do this again. We need to know the mistakes of the past to not repeat them. We demonize other countries and cultures for doing similar things as to what we have done at various times in our own country. We need to preserve this history.

I truly hope that I’ve not bored you out of your mind and that you’ve enjoyed the photographs and a brief overview of the history. I’m going to include a few links to check out if you’d like to read more, as it’s where I was able to get some of my information on the history.

I do plan on visiting Milledgeville again because there are some other buildings I’d like to photograph, as well as shoot some of it on film. One thing I didn’t get to do was view any of the insides which would be a dream to get to photograph more of the buildings to get a deeper since of the history and what took place there. When I photograph abandoned places, my rule of thumb has always been that I will not go in places that I can’t get permission to be in. A lot of people into URBEX photography and exploring don’t follow that, that’s just been the way I operate out of respect. I do hope to be able to get in touch with someone to where maybe I can see a little more of these amazing facility.

- Ricky

Ricky Davis 3/22/17 Ricky Davis 3/22/17

Beauty Redefined Series - What is it?!?!? - TRD Photography

Beauty Redefined Series - What is it?!?!?!

I'm giving you a break from photos for a post. As you might have noticed, the past several days my posts have centered around what I call the beauty redefined series. Last summer I started shooting for a series of photos that I wanted to do a couple of things with. 1. I wanted to share peoples stories about different elements of their life and 2. In light of those stories, I wanted to construct a broader view of how we look at our fellow people. From the first part of the series, listening to people share their stories and struggles, I learned so much.

A lot of the series that really interest me revolve around the concept of beauty. I think it's an interesting concept for a few reasons. Honestly I think beauty is one of the words that we all know what "it" is, but the definition differs from person to person. It's ingrained in our heads, in our cultures. It's this ideal that we strive for but never quite achieve and in my mind it's because it doesn't exist. There can be no clear cut definition of what beauty is. It differs from person to person. Freedom is another similar kind of word. We all have a different take of what freedom is. We're told that we live in the land of the free, but how far does that freedom actually go? Beauty is something that's preached, but what does it actually entail?

A lot of times we're taught that beauty and ugliness go hand in hand, and it's true, you can't have one without the other. However we're taught to look at outward appearances and judge them. I think ugliness isn't anything appearance based. It's in our actions, in our emotions. Hate & brutality, greed, these are things that define ugliness to me personally and I feel that beauty is in our imperfections. It's in our differences. It's what makes us, us.

The Series for me is something that is a continually evolving project. I'm learning from each person that I've gotten to work with. My goal is to share the stories and the differences, and each of us has a story. My goal is to tell those stories, touch on issues of our time, and my goal is to photograph the individuals in a way that it's not about the identity of who one is, because these stories could belong to your neighbor, your brother, your sister, your co-worker, the person you pass at the grocery store, the guy you nod to that's coming out of the bathroom.... These stories could be any of us. And that's the point.

I'm about to start shooting round 2 of the series. If you'd like to be considered I'll be organizing an upcoming date to shoot round 2. It's all shot in studio on 35mm film. To be considered you must email me your story and why you'd like to be part of the project. We will take several photos but only one is used for the series. If your story is sensitive, you are more than welcome to use the handle of anonymous when we share your story. I realize that some are more of a private nature. We hope you'll share your story with us. If we don't receive your story, we won't be able to set anything up for this series. No photoshoot experience required. Male and Female welcome. Signed release required at shoot.

Ricky Davis 3/21/17 Ricky Davis 3/21/17

Beauty Redefined Series - Zack - TRD Photography

Beauty Redefined Series - Zack -

" My fitness journey started 5 years ago while noticing all of my family members getting diagnosed with some sort of illness. Whether it be obesity or diabetes, almost every family member had one or another, if not both. I know some things can occur without our prevention, but I also knew that poor eating habits, lack of exercise, & lousy excuses didn't contribute to a healthy lifestyle. I remember one morning it just hit me that I wasn't going to be another family member that didn't care about ones health.

So I went full force. I didn't have much money at the time so I remember eating plain chicken & broccoli (5 meals a day). My daily schedule was waking up at 4am every morning to do fasted cardio, work 6am-6pm, have night classes to finish my degree from 6:30pm-9pm, then after all of that, get another workout in with the weights. We're talking 18 hour days.

These decisions didn't just develop a healthy lifestyle, it completely opened the doors to new opportunities for me. It made me mentally & physically stronger than I could have ever imagined. I knew if I could commit to bettering myself starting with healthy decisions, then I could take that commitment & determination onto whatever I chose to do in life. "

Zack

Ricky Davis 3/19/17 Ricky Davis 3/19/17

Beauty Redefined Series - Brittany - TRD Photography

Beauty Redefined Series - Brittany

""Beauty was about control. My self-image, along with a set of lovely signs/symptoms; has been drastically affected due to a developmental disorder, Aspergers Syndrome, which is the highest functioning autism on the spectrum. I focused on my external beauty so I could mask how ugly this syndrome made me feel.

Repression, regression, and retaliation were all three characteristics that I was afflicted with, and my self-image is slowly rising from the crippling life of isolation, anxiety, and self-consciousness that society bestowed upon me.

Females are made to believe in beauty stigmas; you must buy this, you cannot be skinny, fat, pale, or tan. Society may always have this view on beauty and the linked consumers; you and I, are unaware of the hazard it is doing to our perception. Beauty has become so demanding externally, that we forget what makes us feel beautiful, what sets us apart.

I am beautiful due to my nature, empathy, intuition, and perseverance."

Brittany

Ricky Davis 3/18/17 Ricky Davis 3/18/17

Beauty Redefined Series - Kendra Sumpter - TRD Photography

Beauty Redefined Series - Kendra Sumpter

"I've always been different. I see tattoos as art. Surprisingly, I get more older people that love my tattoos and tell me how beautiful I am with them. My tattoos make me feel like who I'm supposed to be. Different. Set apart from everyone else." Kendra

Ricky Davis 3/17/17 Ricky Davis 3/17/17

Story Behind the Photo - The First Equality Shot....

Tattoo Artist - Jennifer Edge - Hair/Makeup - Shae Luke - TRD Photography

Story Behind the Photo - The First Equality Shot.

Quite a few years ago, on a blog far away, I started sharing some of the stories and memories that I had behind some of my photos. Many of my photos don't really have a story other than we thought "hey, this might look cool." Others have more of a memory than a story. After spending some time going through old stuff, I've decided to start blogging some about ones that stick out to me. This photo is one that had a bit of a story and really sparked a series that kinda grew into a life of it's own.

2013 was a very odd year for me. The first half of the year I was preparing for a move to Portland, Oregon. The people in Chattanooga were amazingly supportive and one of the people that I grew very close to during that time is Tattoo Artist Jennifer Edge. We became friends from a shoot that I did for Triple 7 and then I did some promo work for her personally as well. We hit it off and she just is an incredible creative visionary.

In 2013, the background of this idea was that the movement for equality was reaching a fever pitch. Everywhere you turned there were posts, as well as many people had the equality symbol for profile pictures. There was a lot of hate on social media about it. People taking a stand, and others just saying extremely hateful rhetoric. My view was always that I stand for equality and I don't believe the government should create laws based off religious views. If we allow the government to create laws based off of certain religious views, then we open them up to create more laws on different religious views and at some point they'll get around to coming after us all. But I digress....

After moving to Portland, I kept in touch with Jennifer and she was busy with building Main Line Ink. They were opening to their own tattoo shop here in Chattanooga. I was scheduled to come back to Chattanooga for two weeks to shoot a wedding for a friend and while I was back they had asked me to do an art show at the grand opening of Main Line Ink. I was beyond thrilled.

I've always enjoyed doing work that makes people think. Work that might make some uncomfortable. I was browsing magazines at a bookstore in Portland and I flipped the page and I saw a photograph of Angelina Jolie. She had a big red X on her lips. Immediately an idea popped in my head and I knew I wanted to do the photograph with Edge.

When I got back to Chattanooga, I was scheduled to do a big photoshoot for promos for Main Line Ink, and after the crowd had died down that evening, hairstylist Shae Luke came in and did Edge's hair/makeup. The shot turned out perfectly. We waited to do the big reveal of the photo until the art show at the grand opening.

The response to the photo was insane. I was shocked and then more and more people were sending messages to us about it. People wanted to be photographed for it. More people than I could ever think of creative ideas for wanted to be part of the series. They wanted to show their support for equality. It's one of the photos that I feel was way bigger than me or even Jennifer. It sparked something that resonated with people and made them feel something. That's one of the best feelings in the world to be able to have contributed to something that makes people think and feel.