honorable mention
Douglas Hill united states
title
Crossing Over
Crossing these footbridges is to be assaulted. The older ones, presumably built in the '50s and '60s, are closer to the roadway below and between the bridges' staircases or ramps located at either end. When traffic is moving at high speed the roar is deafening, punctuated by squealing brakes and honking horns. Speech between people next to each other is nearly impossible. Pedestrians become acutely aware of vehicles hurtling beneath them only a few feet away. At the north entrance to one that spans the 5 Freeway in Downey the outer lane of traffic appears close enough to touch. A layer of soot blankets everything.
At times it has required considerable faith to use these bridges. A few have been permanently closed off in response to their appropriation by gangs and other criminals who would exploit the vulnerability of innocents interested simply in getting from one side of the freeway to the other. Motorists below drive by, oblivious to events unfolding above them, while any sounds of a struggle would be completely absorbed by the unyielding white noise of the freeway. Enough time has passed since these closures that the entrances to these bridges are now choked by dense ivy. The revenge of foliage.
Hill began making photographs in 1969. From 1971 to 1973 he attended UCLA where he studied with Robert Heinecken, Darryl Curran, Jerry McMillan and Leland Rice. In 1973 he went to Cal Arts where Ben Lifson was teaching.
Hill's work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions at such places as: G. Ray Hawkins Gallery, Santa Monica; The International Center for Photography, New York; Kunsthaus, Zurich; Friends of Photography, Carmel; Kunstgewerbemuseum, Zurich; Prairie State College, Chicago; The Photography Place, Philadelphia, Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica; The Huntington, San Marino and publications: This Side of Paradise: Body & Landscape in Los Angeles Photography; Looking at Los Angeles; American Photo; Camera; 24 Hours in the Life of Los Angeles; The New Color.
He is included in the collections of the Huntington, the Library of Congress, Joseph E Seagram & Son, Center for Creative Photography, Center for Motion Picture Studies, Amon Carter Museum and participated in The Los Angeles Documentary Project commemorating the bicentennial of Los Angeles, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Hill's commercial architectural photography has been widely published in House Beautiful, Coastal Living, Architecture, Architectural Record, Domus, World Architecture, Interior Design, Interiors. His work has also appeared in numerous books on architecture and interior design. He has been teaching photography at UCLA Extension since 1994.
He lives with Elayne Sawaya, his wife of 41 years and their poodle, Godfrey, in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles.
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entry description
Originally built with nothing more than chest-high walls on either side of the entire length of these bridges, most have since been completely enclosed in chain link to deter the throwing of objects, and at times living things, into the midst of the traffic below and keep taggers from climbing out onto the freeway signage to apply their graffiti. The concave condition of much of this chain link and the continuing proliferation of street art on every surface available is testimony to the folly of such a scheme.Crossing these footbridges is to be assaulted. The older ones, presumably built in the '50s and '60s, are closer to the roadway below and between the bridges' staircases or ramps located at either end. When traffic is moving at high speed the roar is deafening, punctuated by squealing brakes and honking horns. Speech between people next to each other is nearly impossible. Pedestrians become acutely aware of vehicles hurtling beneath them only a few feet away. At the north entrance to one that spans the 5 Freeway in Downey the outer lane of traffic appears close enough to touch. A layer of soot blankets everything.
At times it has required considerable faith to use these bridges. A few have been permanently closed off in response to their appropriation by gangs and other criminals who would exploit the vulnerability of innocents interested simply in getting from one side of the freeway to the other. Motorists below drive by, oblivious to events unfolding above them, while any sounds of a struggle would be completely absorbed by the unyielding white noise of the freeway. Enough time has passed since these closures that the entrances to these bridges are now choked by dense ivy. The revenge of foliage.
about the photographer
Douglas Hill was born to Canadian parents in London, England in 1950. At the age of five he moved to New York where he lived until coming to Los Angeles in 1968 where he still resides. He attained U.S. citizenship in 1990.Hill began making photographs in 1969. From 1971 to 1973 he attended UCLA where he studied with Robert Heinecken, Darryl Curran, Jerry McMillan and Leland Rice. In 1973 he went to Cal Arts where Ben Lifson was teaching.
Hill's work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions at such places as: G. Ray Hawkins Gallery, Santa Monica; The International Center for Photography, New York; Kunsthaus, Zurich; Friends of Photography, Carmel; Kunstgewerbemuseum, Zurich; Prairie State College, Chicago; The Photography Place, Philadelphia, Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica; The Huntington, San Marino and publications: This Side of Paradise: Body & Landscape in Los Angeles Photography; Looking at Los Angeles; American Photo; Camera; 24 Hours in the Life of Los Angeles; The New Color.
He is included in the collections of the Huntington, the Library of Congress, Joseph E Seagram & Son, Center for Creative Photography, Center for Motion Picture Studies, Amon Carter Museum and participated in The Los Angeles Documentary Project commemorating the bicentennial of Los Angeles, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Hill's commercial architectural photography has been widely published in House Beautiful, Coastal Living, Architecture, Architectural Record, Domus, World Architecture, Interior Design, Interiors. His work has also appeared in numerous books on architecture and interior design. He has been teaching photography at UCLA Extension since 1994.
He lives with Elayne Sawaya, his wife of 41 years and their poodle, Godfrey, in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles.
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