Vanishing America
Vanishing America is a Fine Art Photography project set about to capture the beauty and enchantment of the unique elements of our history and culture that are in danger of disappearing within the next two to three generations.
It is an ongoing journey to artistically document those things that make America wonderful, fun, beautiful, and exciting… the very things that are being forgotten, abused, and destroyed right before our very eyes. It is a project to show people what we will be missing when we allow "progress" to drain our wetlands, bulldoze our historic buildings, clearcut our forests, and pollute our waterways. It is also a project to document what will be lost to us through time, lack of use, and neglect – those things that, through natural processes, must be replaced, but nonetheless, have great value in our country’s history and culture.
Subdivided into several series of images, all of which depict American treasures that are in danger of vanishing forever (Wild Horses, Wetlands, and Iconic architecture, to name a few), it is a series of images meant to preserve, in photographic format, those things that define our experiences in America, before they are lost to us forever, and, hopefully, increase awareness and activism along the way.
There will come a time when there will be no wild Mustangs roaming the plains of the West; there will come a time when the Okefenokee Swamp will be nothing more than a field upon which developers can build another Wal-Mart; and we're fast approaching the day when the quaint small town is just a faded memory.
America, as we know it, is changing fast. And, sometimes change is good. But sometimes change destroys the things we love about our country. I understand that we can’t save it all – and there are definitely icons of our growth as a nation and as a culture that shouldn’t be saved. But that doesn’t mean we should forget them. Hopefully these images, and the ones that will follow as I travel across the United States, will remind people how precious, how ephemeral, and how important these aspects of our country and our culture are.
Project Plan:Over the course of the next couple of years, I will drive around the United States in a motor home running on Solar Power and Vegetable Oil to photographically document America’s Wild Horses, Disappearing Wetlands, Historic Architecture and Settlements, Crumbling Industry, Small Town Life, and anything else that I encounter along the way that could potentially be lost to us in the next two to three generations.
I will map out several primary destinations that will be the cornerstones of my journey. I will reach these destinations via America’s seldom traveled backroads. And I will keep my eyes open and my cameras ready for the more subtle opportunities that present themselves along the way.
My journey will take me from the deserts of Southern California and the Salton Sea, out to the National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, across the Rocky Mountains, and into the Great Plains of the Midwest. I will travel to the abandoned industries of the Northeast, down into the mysterious wetlands of the Deep South, and all across the Nation documenting American icons and precious resources. The finer details will be mapped out as the departure date approaches. I will provide regular image and article submissions to numerous magazines, web log updates, and video. The project will culminate in a series of coffee table books, art exhibits, a possible documentary.
Note:In order to reduce my overall budget and have an actual positive physical impact on the environment, I would like to make this journey in vehicles that run solely on alternative fuels such as solar power and biodiesel/vegetable oil.
The plan is to leave San Diego in the Summer, so keep your eyes and ears open. You might just see me in your town.
Saturday, June 28th, 2008 marks the opening of the very first Vanishing America exhibit, which will be on display through July at Roswell's Ann Jackson Gallery!
America project. Future exhibits will be held in cities all over the United States, each one showcasing new work as well as some original favorites, but this is the first!
band, The Breeze Kings, a wine tasting from local vendors, and barbecue from Alpharetta's own Smokejack restaurant, all accompanying 25 of Vanishing America's best images to date.
If you are in the Atlanta area, and would like to attend... hell, if you're within 200 miles of Atlanta, you have to attend!... please RSVP to holt@vanishingamerica.net as soon as you can. This is an historic event. Space is limited and though this event is free, it will "sell out" very quickly.
