Discourse and the streets of New York

Everybody knows (or should know) that photos portray a certain discourse. The photographer is inviting you to look at the dominant reading. So when photographer Jeff Mermelstein snaps odd pictures from around New York City...what's his point?

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The pictures refuse to load for me...so go check 'em out yourself. Just do it.
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Mermelstein takes you on a tour of the city while looking at the ground. For example (if you didn't go check out the pics - you won't know what I'm talking about), the picture taken in the Flatiron District shows a burning shoe on the street (don't worry - nobody's foot was in it). What the heck is he trying to prove?

"I'm interested in things on the ground

-- the whirlpool of chaos on a street corner."

-Mermelstein

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There you have it folks, the dominant reading of this text straight from the photographer's mouth. The burning shoe is representative of "the whirlpool of chaos on a street corner."

I'm not sure that's what I got out of it...but you can make your own choices.