Road Trip USA, Kitsch Photographs
By Francis Minien
17 May 2009
"The Journey is more important than the destination" unknown
Over 100 years ago in 1903 Horatio Nelson began on the most famous and arguably first road trip across America in what was then known as the 'horseless carriage'. He travelled from San Francisco to New York.
Over a century later this journey has become a cultural rite within American culture. This notion of travelling across the expanse of America is a far cry from the days of Horatio Nelson. Today the American road trip is a travel industry unto itself, from the Purists Journey on a Harley Davidson travelling east to West (as the country had expanded in the 19th Century) to the family vacation experience in an RV.
This road trip was a journey to be taken for myself to get a better understanding of the country I had chosen to live in, New York brings together people from all over the country, but in New York one does not get a feel for what that identity is when you meet someone from places such as Corolla, North Carolina or Tuba City, Arizona!
This trip was for an Englishman following in the foot steps of many known and unknown travellers, writers such as Jack Kerouac and photographers such as Stephen Shore had documented this cultural Journey in their era's in there eye's theses photographs convey my journey and my eye's.
The Journey was also significant as it was at a time when it was a country and culture on the verge of its own transitional Journey, politically America was driving towards a new Era, unknown territory, the names of Obama and Clinton started on their Journeys towards the White House.
In addition this was a nation on the edge of the economic abyss that came to be in 2008, mid 2007 the financial institutions and government were feeling the pain of the credit crisis but the average everyman was yet to feel the impact.
I started this Journey with many cultural perceptions and stereotypes. I wanted to experience the American Dream, I wanted to do this as an experience of the country I have come to call home these last 3 years, to know what backdrop Joe Everyman grew up in Tuba City, Arizona, and why now he laments the 5 storey walk-up in Brooklyn. I went into this Journey with a sense for what I was to experience in the present was not going to be the future. I came out the other side with a new outlook on America and its people.
Embarking on the 3,500 Miles Journey from Las Vegas to New York, driving through 15 states in 3 weeks this photo essay conveys an essence of my 'Trip' as opposed to the 'Road' that was travelled, set against the stunning back drop of the great American Outdoors.
1 response
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Jim Pope said (18 May 2009):
Great stuff, I like that you focused on kitsch. Obviously there's a lot of folk art on the road and you've captured some interesting examples. You might want to check out Simon Kossoff and Kurt Nimmo's galleries on JPG if you haven't already. They, among others, seem to specialize in the road in the US, especially the southwest and midwest. Also, Danny Lyon (you'll have to google him) has an interesting take on US culture that goes back to the 60's.
