Common Ground

 Abandoned Building, Highway 60, Kentucky 2015 © jwl

I met Matt Hall in Knoxville 20 years ago while we were both attending the School of Architecture at the University of Tennessee. Despite our movements around the country and despite our varied disciplines since then, we have maintained a deep friendship based on living creative lives as well as off color remarks.

Barn, Indiana 2015 © Matt Hall

Our personal aesthetics stray from each other from time to time, but we share a love for structure, form & a minimalist approach. On our recent trip to Kentucky and Indiana, we used our common ground and pushed each other to make a good amount of photographs together. Between telling jokes, calling each other names and listening to new music, We found time to make art.

I am going to try and pair up photos that may speak to each other that we made on our trip.


I am already looking forward to Hell Drive III!

Subversive Vernacular

Garage, Utica, Indiana 2015 © jwl

Last weekend Matt Hall took me on a trip to Louisville, Kentucky. It was meant as a multi function trip, an extension of my Bachelor Party (another trip to Memphis took place back in March), time with an old friend and a good weekend for photography. Matt and I haven't been out making photographs together since he took a position at Auburn University back in 2013. Summer Session is about to start up, my cast is off my wrist, I got the film, so let's get out for another Hell Drive!

Our Saturday Drive took us from Louisville to the tri-border of KY, OH & IN along the river. I have taken some loose direction from Robert Adams by driving Along Some Rivers to consider Rivertowns. So that's what we did. Thanks, Bob!

This was a reluctant stop, but entirely worth it now that I have the scan finished. Abstract enough and still full of that American Vernacular that I am looking for.

More posts to come featuring our Hell Drive..... I'll also be going back and adding some commentary to last month's posts soon now that I have my hand out of a cast.