The State Street Project
The State Street Project involved 8 artists, documenting their experience traveling down US Highway 89 from the Idaho border to the Arizona border.
Ampersand | 34” x 34” | mixed media | 2008
The State Street Project
8 artists · 450 miles · 1 road
In a similar tradition to Ed Ruscha’s Every Building on the Sunset Strip, The State Street Project attempted to present a portrait of the state of Utah at the intersection of historical documentation and personal self-expression. Selecting US Highway 89 as a representative cross section of the state, a group of eight artists traveled the length of the road from the Idaho border to the Arizona border, collecting information and material. This experience established the basis for the exhibit. The pieces together formed a collective portrait of our experience, a portrait of the state of Utah.
In 2008, the State Street Project showed in 6 venues throughout Utah, all in cities along Highway 89: Art Access Gallery in Salt Lake City, Gallery 110 in Provo, Bountiful/Davis Art Center in Bountiful, Juniper Fine Arts Gallery in Kanab, Springville Museum of Art in Springville, and Alliance for the Varied Arts in Logan. I received a project grant from the Utah Arts Council to help with travel expenses, and the work was featured in several publications, including 15 Bytes and Salt Lake City Weekly.
My Work
For my work, I took my traditional collage approach and applied it to painting, combining into compositions aspects of photos I’d taken along the trip. To mimic another aspect I enjoy about collage, I used multiple panels and a jigsaw, to get outside the traditional rectangular format.
