American Triptych

American Triptych started in 2005 as a previous project (Val Verde) was ending. I would drive to Montecito on the 126 highway, which connects Interstate 5 with Highway 101. This route cuts through the farmlands of Santa Paula and Piru and until the recent urban sprawl you could imagine you were in the California of the 1960’s – all orange trees and sleepy towns. Piru is where the project started, but Cabazon, Indio and the wind farms of the eastern deserts soon joined it. An offshoot of the group has been centered on the towns surrounding California State Route 99 (Hwy 99) as it cuts through the heart of California’s Central Valley. Originally this was the main route from Mexico to Canada until the more direct Interstate 5 literally sidelined it. What’s left is the working heart of the state and towns with names like Galt, McFarland and Fresno. The is project is about a uniquely American vernacular, our visual history and language. In each town I’ve tried to create one image, which captures what I feel that town is about – or maybe, what it used to be about.