Review

A review of Wanderlust: Travel and American Photography

Dennis Stock (b. 1928-), "Untitled" from "James Dean: A Memorial Portfolio" (James Dean on the Farm of his Uncle Marcus Winslow), vintage gelatin silver print, 14" x 11", 1956, (printed 1980); Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, The University of Oklahoma, Norman; Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Richard L. Sandor, 2000. Image: courtesy of the museum

Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art
University of Oklahoma
Norman, Oklahoma
June 5 — September 12, 2010

If the thought of travel conjures isolated roads, ghost towns, and expanses of barren landscape, then the latest exhibition at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art might resonate with you. In Wanderlust: Travel and American Photography, the desire for escape is presented less as a fun and social adventure but more as a solitary, reflective experience.

Drawn exclusively from the museum’s collection, the show is divided into three parts: Dennis Stock's 1955 series documenting James Dean’s cross-country drive from California to his hometown in Indiana and on to New York City; the American Roads portfolio compiled by Victor Landweber in 1981, consisting of 20 photographers, each exploring a different aspect of travel; and Berenice Abbott’s Route 1 series from 1954 recording American life along a single highway from Florida to Maine.

Dorothea Lange (1895-1965), "U.S. 54 North of El Paso, TX, 1938" (from "American Roads" portfolio, published by Landweber Press, 1981), gelatin silver print 21" x 17 1/4", 1982; Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, The University of Oklahoma, Norman; Purchase, 1982. Image: courtesy of the museum

The exhibition’s frontispiece, a posthumous reprint of Dorothea Lange’s U.S. 54 North of El Paso, TX, 1938, sets the stage for the exhibition. As viewers enter the gallery, they essentially walk into an enlarged reproduction of a long, empty road. The grainy black and white image of a two-lane highway recessed into space is lacking cars, people, or signs, hinting that Wanderlust is more about the contemplative journey rather than summer vacation.

Robert A. Widdicombe (b. 1949- ), "Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, TX" (from "American Roads" portfolio, published by Landweber Press, 1981), Ektacolor, 1979; Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, The University of Oklahoma, Norman; Purchase, 1982. Image: courtesy of the museum

This absence of virtually any life occurs throughout the works presented in the exhibition, and it’s noticeable just how few photographs feature a human presence. Robert Widdicombe’s Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo,Texas captures the half-buried cars at night when no one else is around — and before tourists had covered the vehicles with layers of graffiti. Similarly, Landweber’s S.N. Ward & Son Mobil Station, Pasadena, CA features a wrecked car without driver, passenger, or spectator. The surreal green glow of the car and harsh fluorescent light emanating from the store across the street add to the eeriness of the deserted scene.

Victor Landweber (b. 1943- ), "S.N. Ward & Son Mobil Station, Pasadena, CA" (from "American Roads" portfolio, published by Landweber Press, 1981), Cibachrome print, 11" x 14", 1978; Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, The University of Oklahoma, Norman; Purchase, 1982. Image: courtesy of the museum

Stock’s photographs of Dean are the only images that focus on a person and reflect a nostalgic return to the past, rather than an exploration of the unfamiliar or new. Iconic images such as a solitary Dean walking in the rain on Broadway Street, visiting the grave of a family member, and sitting in a coffin are ominous in tone, even without the subtext of his death just six months later. There is a feeling of unease throughout these images, especially the ones from his uncle’s farm where he grew up. It is as if Dean, with his good looks, stylish clothes, and pompadour, can no longer identify with his Midwestern roots.

Dennis Stock (b. 1928-), "Untitled" from "James Dean: A Memorial Portfolio" (James Dean posing in a coffin, seven months before his death, Fairmount, Indiana, 1955), vintage gelatin silver print, 11' x 14", 1956 (printed 1980); Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, The University of Oklahoma, Norman; Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Richard L. Sandor, 2000. Image: courtesy of the museum

The best photographs in the exhibition capture surprises encountered on the road, such as Ken Brown’s Pink Trailer Tilt, which features a peculiar, gravity-defying roadside attraction. One of the more intriguing images, Joel Sternfeld’s Exhausted Renegade Elephant, Woodland, WA, depicts an elephant lying in the middle of a rural road surrounded by onlookers. How the elephant got to this location and whether the scene is sad or amusing is ambiguous. The voyeuristic point of view in which Sternfeld presents the scene, from a distance and above, de-emphasizes the spectacle to the point where the viewer might actually miss it upon first glance. This strange sight startles the viewer like it does the subjects in the photograph.

Though Wanderlust includes many accomplished photographers and several iconic photographs, the exhibition’s likeability may depend more on the viewer’s personal feelings about travel than the quality of the work shown itself. For those like me, who desire the social aspect of travel, the exhibition could appear lifeless. Highways can be lonesome voids or full of moments of human interaction, and Wanderlust chooses the somber path of a loner.

-re-

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