DELPHINE BEDEL #07

FROM THE SIDELINES

Crossing the country by car for a month during the Credit Crunch and the first 100 days of Obama’s presidency, Delphine Bedel photographed the stunning scenery, eclectic architecture and the people, heart and soul of Route 66. She captures the afterimage of the 60′s prosperity and exuberance, and the aftermath of the recent crisis. From the Grand Canyon to the ‘Magnificent Mile’ of motels and drive-thru chain stores, from the Dust Bowl years to the hope and angst of the near future, unexpected perspectives unfold along the journey across America, and reflect upon a country in a disrupted present.

Home on the road, travelling together with singer-songwriter Luke Nyman, revisiting the landmarks of American Beat culture, filming with hand-held camera and improvising music performances in many places along the road trip. Bedel filmed and recorded stories from the ‘Children of the Mother Road’: a cowboy’s wife, motel workers, war veterans, artists, musicians and historians, all had stories to tell.

ROUTE 66/USA (read more)

Crossing America by car on Route 66 during the Credit Crunch, capturing the afterimage of the 60′s prosperity and exuberance and the everlasting aftermath of the recent crisis, I photographed the eclectic architecture and the people, heart and soul of Route 66. In 1984, the Route was decommissioned and officially disappeared from all maps. Replaced by new Interstate Highways bypassing small towns, taking a bite out of its glamorous lure, it created a great strain for the economy along the old road and its inhabitants.