Inspirations #12: Walker Evans and Eleven:Fourteen

Tin Building, Moundville, AL, 1936 by Walker Evans

I remember the first time I saw this image at the Witkin Gallery in New York back in the Early 1980s. The tones and unending vertical lines mesmerized me. I wish I had the few hundred dollars it cost to buy an original (not Library of Congress) print back then, but fresh out of college equals fresh out of money!

Walker Evans did a substantial amount of work in Moundville, Alabama back in 1936 for the Farm Security Administration enacted by FDR during the Great Depression. There are so many great photographs from this town it would be interesting to go back and see what it is like now. It would be even better if the current administration would fund it, but of course, they find it more important to spend unGodly amounts of money elsewhere.

William Christenberry did just that in the 1960s through the 1980s. He grew up near the area and became fascinated and inspired by Evans' work capturing the "ordinary" scenes in rural Alabama. This work eventually became a traveling exhibit, a book, Of Time & Place, and even was interpreted by Christenberry as sculpture. If you can find the book, published by the Friends of Photography, pick one up - it's a good read. I have a copy in my library.

Rick's Hitch Works, Phoenix, AZ, 2009 by Richard M. Coda

On many of my Sunday morning photo jaunts I would pass this place on Van Buren Ave. at 20th Street in Phoenix. Unfortunately, behind chain link fence, barbed wire and dogs, this place was never open. In late May 2008 the light was perfect... the sun was in front of the building and early in the morning it raked across the corrugated aluminum facade perfectly. I desperately tried calling to see if I could get permission to photograph the building, but no one ever answered or returned my message. I marked it down in my calendar to try again in one year, May 2009.

I happened to be in the area on a Saturday after I dropped my daughter off at her art class and noticed that the gate was opened. I had the cameras and I was ready. I went in where it says "Office". There was nothing but junk in there. I came out and went into one of the other businesses that share the parking lot. There was this old guy sitting at a computer, smoking a cigar and surrounded by dogs. I asked him nicely if I could photograph the building, explaining my big cameras and all. He wondered why I would want to take a photograph of that "old thing". He mentioned they had been thinking of tearing it down to make more room. Thankfully, he allowed me to photograph it.

I used the 11x14" camera on this and the contact print is just beautiful with creamy light tones and the beautiful vertical shadows. I am very happy I was able to make this image before Rick's disappears into history, just as Moundville has.

Inspirations #3 - Cars, real and faux

In addition to Edward Weston, another of my early influences in photography was Walker Evans. His straightforward photographs of everyday life during the Great Depression deeply impacted my "style". Recently I have been thinking a lot about my style... Where did it come from? Who is responsible for it (besides me)? Most importantly, where is it going? These are all difficult questions and the answers can be quite complex.

Where did it come from? Probably from a mix of the places I have lived. England (although I have no conscious memory of it), Orange, NJ (in the 1960s), Pompton Lakes, NJ (in the 1970s), New Brunswick, NJ (college years), Fair Lawn, NJ (post-college), Lyndhurst, NJ (beginning married life). I would say these places all influenced how I saw my surroundings. These are all old places, and I seem to be drawn to old subjects.

Who is responsible? I think I have narrowed it down to a combination of Edward/Brett Weston, Walker Evans, and George Tice. Of all of these I have to lean towards Tice. He is also a New Jersey photographer, and indeed we have seen the same things albeit at different times and in different eras. In fact, I entered a national contest once by the Photo Review. Mr. Tice was the juror. I submitted a photo from Paterson, NJ (one of Mr. Tice's stomping grounds) and was honored with second place and $200. More on George Tice in subsequent Inspirations posts.

Now the tough one... where is it going? I don't know. I continue to seek out things that have been forgotten, overlooked or never looked at, period. But I have also recently embraced color. Will that change the way I see things? My love for line, form, tone and abstraction are still strong. It will get interesting I can assure you. I'll just have to wait and see.

Garage, Atlanta, GA, 1936, Walker Evans

Tony's Friendly Auto Service, Salinas, CA, 1989, Richard M. Coda

Above is another inspiration. One a trip to Carmel in 1989 I passed this Trompe-l'œil painted structure in Salinas, CA, on Rt. 68 on the approach to the Monterey Peninsula. The brilliant whites originally caught my eye and then the beautiful paint work. I made a point of noting the time and returning the next day with my 4x5" camera. Setting up on the shoulder on the opposite side of the highway I had to wait 45 minutes for a break with no cars passing into view. It was well worth the wait and I thank Mr. Evans for his inspiration.