Photgraphy
摄影项目

Keywords: 

Large Format Film Photography, 
US Route 66., Road Trip, 
Field Investigation

“I’m always surprised that nobody had taken this road on photographically as more than just 2,400 miles of amusement park with one roadside attraction after another.” — Edward Keating

Ruojia’s ISSUE 66 series is a field investigation of U.S. Route 66 and is presented in the form of still images. In his work, he takes John Steinbeck's "Mother Road", which runs diagonally across the border, as a geographical clue, and focuses on the road and the surrounding towns, which are located south of 36 degrees north latitude and have a typical subtropical desert or continental climate. At the same time, he views the history of the demise of this once main artery of the United States as a microcosm of the decline of the automobile industry across the nation, and attempts to explore the symbiotic relationship between the remnants of the automobile industry and the limits of development in the Midwest through the formalized image construction of the complexity of this highway. 

In addition, the intersection between the two "serene" presented in the images of Route 66 and the author's own search is the intersection between the desertified landscape and his symbolic psychological desert; the contact between the two potentials magnifies the insignificance and powerlessness of human beings in the face of topographic changes. A sober awareness of the fact that the landscape will change with time and the road ahead is unknown.





“从没有⼈将这条公路以影像形式展现出来，这总令我感到诧异，它不应该只是⼀座⻓达2400英⾥路边景点不断的游乐园。”— 爱德华·基廷

66号公路始建于1926年，曾经作为美国的主动脉，为途经的城镇带来了繁荣。⽆数家庭、游客与堕落的灵魂沿路⻄进寻求⾃身价值，也正是沿途的汽⻋旅馆、加油站和餐厅的霓虹灯照亮了他们前⾏的路线。1956年起随着艾森豪州际公路法案的推⾏和两次⽯油危机的影响，66号公路的命运被彻底颠覆，并在1985年退役，沿途灯⽕不再，寥寥孤岛提醒着⼈们往昔的辉煌。 直到⽬前，尽管⺠间与政府试图以旅游业复兴66号公路，其绝⼤部分路段依然是⻤城与现代废墟的代名词。

ISSUE 66系列是⼀次针对美国66号公路的田野调查。在创作中，他以约翰·斯坦⻉克笔下这条呈对⻆线斜贯疆域的“⺟亲之路”为地理线索，集中调查位于北纬36度以南具有典型亚热带沙漠或⼤陆性⽓候的道路与周边城镇组成。与此同时，他将这条曾经的美国主动脉的衰亡史视作全美⼯业凋落的缩影，试图通过对这条公路复杂性的形式化影像构建，探寻美国中⻄部发展局限性与残存的汽⻋⼯业之间的共⽣关系。

除此之外，图像中66号公路所呈现的和作者⾃身所寻求的两种“静谧”之间的交汇，正是被荒漠化的景物与他象征性的⼼理荒漠的交汇，两种势能的接触放⼤了⼈类⾯对地形变迁时的渺⼩与⽆⼒。66号公路被过去的记忆所灼伤，也让我们清醒地意识到，景观会随着时间流逝，⽽前路未知。