Architecture: Buildings (AMATEUR) - HONORABLE MENTION
98 miles to Vermilion
Photo © Pawel Pilch
Support this photographer - share this work on Facebook.
Arizona's Road 89A near Page connects the town with dozen or so small Navajo Tribe settlements, nestled in a vast valley between sharply angular Vermilion Cliffs. I was there at the very end of March 2015 and the road had just reopened. Two years prior it collapsed in a very narrow and steep section that climbed the 1400 feet high cliffs. Children from this area had to be driven 5 days a week for two years on bypass road to their schools in Page. Approximately 100 miles each day. Other then absolutely necessary local commute - not a single outside traveler for months and months. Roadside Navaho art stands, rare and sometimes the only sign of human activity in this region, where abandoned completely. I drove down on this brand new asphalt on that first 'open road' afternoon looking for souvenirs... pictures is all I got.
"As a kid growing up in Poland in the 80's with the Iron Curtain still firmly in place, I vividly remember typical small town's visual palette. Heavy with history and grounded in tradition, restricted by guidelines, solid and never changing. Running through the streets I always thought the scene needed some tension. At the time Polish School of Poster Art became prominent creative outlet for graphic designers and painters across Central and Eastern Europe. Commissioned by the government posters were regularly printed and distributed across the country. Delivering the intended official message with sharp precision, were also (with just few lines and strong colors) creating optical focus and visually disrupting the status quo. I remember various walls of my town littered with large print playbills and posters. From socialist propaganda to latest movies and everything else in-between. Blurring the lines between design and art, very graphic in style with clear linear quality and bold colors, trying to convey information in the most basic way. They always got my attention and asked to be decoded, and I always took the challenge. Maybe that's way to this day I continue to look 'out there' for the simplest lines and primary shades, trying to focus my perception, eliminate peripheral distraction and reduce what I see to it's most basic visual elements. Hoping I can play my childhood game once more and see clearly again."
BACK TO GALLERY
Arizona's Road 89A near Page connects the town with dozen or so small Navajo Tribe settlements, nestled in a vast valley between sharply angular Vermilion Cliffs. I was there at the very end of March 2015 and the road had just reopened. Two years prior it collapsed in a very narrow and steep section that climbed the 1400 feet high cliffs. Children from this area had to be driven 5 days a week for two years on bypass road to their schools in Page. Approximately 100 miles each day. Other then absolutely necessary local commute - not a single outside traveler for months and months. Roadside Navaho art stands, rare and sometimes the only sign of human activity in this region, where abandoned completely. I drove down on this brand new asphalt on that first 'open road' afternoon looking for souvenirs... pictures is all I got.
About author:
Pawel was born in Southern Poland and lives in New York City. He studied English at Hunter College and trained at the International Center of Photography. He travels across the United States actively perusing photography with the intension to use his images as a creative form of expression. You can find his images at http://www.pilchphotography.com"As a kid growing up in Poland in the 80's with the Iron Curtain still firmly in place, I vividly remember typical small town's visual palette. Heavy with history and grounded in tradition, restricted by guidelines, solid and never changing. Running through the streets I always thought the scene needed some tension. At the time Polish School of Poster Art became prominent creative outlet for graphic designers and painters across Central and Eastern Europe. Commissioned by the government posters were regularly printed and distributed across the country. Delivering the intended official message with sharp precision, were also (with just few lines and strong colors) creating optical focus and visually disrupting the status quo. I remember various walls of my town littered with large print playbills and posters. From socialist propaganda to latest movies and everything else in-between. Blurring the lines between design and art, very graphic in style with clear linear quality and bold colors, trying to convey information in the most basic way. They always got my attention and asked to be decoded, and I always took the challenge. Maybe that's way to this day I continue to look 'out there' for the simplest lines and primary shades, trying to focus my perception, eliminate peripheral distraction and reduce what I see to it's most basic visual elements. Hoping I can play my childhood game once more and see clearly again."
BACK TO GALLERY
