The work exhibited is from a series of photographs centering around the theme of vanishing Americana. Over the past seven years, I have traveled across the country capturing this segment of life in America that is slowly melting away.
As America modernized and streamlined in the later 20th century, social patterns (and places) changed with it. The familiar ways of doing things, the places people gathered and the places they shopped changed as well. Corner drug stores and general stores gave way to gigantic shopping plazas and malls. Having your car serviced used to mean going down to the local “service station” where your gas was plumped for you and you knew the mechanic. There was no such thing as “self-service.” Family entertainment outside of the home could mean a drive-in movie, a night at the local roller-skating rink or an evening out for ice cream at the ice cream parlor.
Life in rural America was slower to give up the long-established icons of a slower-paced life style than were the more urban, larger cities The ringer washer is still used by some who have not opted for an electric washer and dryer. Many homes in remote settings still use outhouses, not yet incorporating modern indoor plumbing.
Many visual images of a nearly by-gone era are but faint memories in an older generation’s mind. These icons remind us of a slower, more personable time and space. A time when people knew their neighbors and said “hello” to each other. A time when the world seemed a little larger and not run by personal computers and fax machines.
My intention in this project is to capture these images on film using a large format 4 x 5 field camera similar to the press cameras of the 30’s to produce a series of black & white images. All prints are made on 16 x 20 fiber paper, processed in an archival manner, selenium toned and matted for final presentation in a 20″ x 24″ format. I feel this process produces a high quality image that will endure for decades to come.
I hope the range of images will delight the viewer and recall images of past memories from each one who sees the work.
Brian Beachum, Photographer