“Staking Claim: Street View Artist”

by baran004

Growing up as the son of a preacher, whose fiery sermons of American exceptionalism were proclaimed before congregations of the faithful, Doug Richard was exposed to the idea of a United States that was blessed by the very hand of God from an early age. The rebellious youth did not fully buy into this concept and it lead him to be intrigued by the dark reality of the United States’ past. Richard found himself contrasting the proclamation of American greatness from people such as his father with the reality of American institutions from the past, such as slavery and Jim Crow laws. Having studied sociology and graduating from The University of California, San Diego with a degree in history, Richard used his natural talent as an artist and created a series of photos that draw attention to social-economical situations in places of the U.S. that were once centers of prosperity but now are shells of their former selves. With the constraints of everyday life restricting Richard from embarking on nationwide road trip to capture these images, he used pictures from Google Street View to create an innovative form of art that conveys his message; that we need to be aware of the realities of our country in order to make it better.
I was intrigued by this artistic conception. I have been on Google maps many times and I am very familiar with the surreal sense of being able to drop in on any street in any neighborhood in the U.S. The haunting feeling of placing yourself on a desolate street surrounded by bordered up windows and abandoned cars from the comfort of your own home apparently was not lost on Doug Richard. Instead of white washing the American past and present, Richard takes an navigation intended resource and turns it into a social one, bringing to light that there is still much work to be done in that every continuous strive for the American Dream.