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Sophia Van Allsburg

SWC 100
Outerbridge Draft 2
Monday, August 9, 2009

The Influential Existence in New Color Photographs from Mexico and California

The distinguished American photographer Paul Outerbridge once said, "art is life seen

through man's inner craving for perfection and beauty--his escape from the sordid realities of life

into a world of his imagining. Art accounts for at least a third of our civilization, and it is one of

the artist's principal duties to do more than merely record life or nature. To the artist is given the

privilege of pointing the way and inspiring towards a better life." It was through the lens of his

camera that Outerbridge captured the essence of these principles and expressed the purpose of

art. In the images he collected, he created connections between dynamically and dramatically

different places. His art was a visual representation of his atypical perception of life. His

governing beliefs find their clearest expression in Outerbridge’s collection entitled New Color

Photographs from Mexico and California. By choosing to photograph elements of life that are

distinctly unique to either Mexico or California, Outerbridge’s collection embodies the poverty

that dwells in Mexico and the prosperity of Southern California life during the 1950s.

Individually their context is obscure, but together they define and influence one another and

produce powerful social commentary.

The effectiveness of the collection lies in the photograph’s ability to depict the cultural

influences the two places have on each other. Photos taken in Mexico are filled with American

presence, and the images of California prompt the viewer to see what does not exist in Mexico.

This hidden existence of foreign presence and cultural influence is clearly presented in the

images “Woman by Car,” and “Gas Station.” At first glance there seem to be no connection

between the two but similarities exist, and once examined the influence becomes apparent.
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“Woman by Car,” shot in Laguna Beach, is a representation of what is symbolically

implied but not visible in “Gas Station.” The focus of the photo is upon a group of woman

congregated near a car, displaying leisure attitudes, and exuding a carefree aura. The photo is

filled with a type of controlled energy, the result of Outerbridge’s artistic decisions and the color

pallet of the objects that compose the image. What makes this photo distinctly Californian is not

only what is visually apparent, but also what is implied.

The photo leaves much to be analyzed, but beauty dwells in the conflicting Mexican-

Californian dynamic the photos pose. Even though the building scenery in the background of

“Woman by Car” is minimal it expresses this cultural dynamic. The cluster of brightly colored

buildings placed lower on the hill behind the group of woman, reveals a Mexican influenced in

style, compared to the building located behind them on the top of the hill. This second structure

resembles more of an American architectural style, with its grey color and different proportions.

There are several interpretations of the dynamic that is created by the placement of these two

buildings along side one another. It is possible though, that the cultural presence and physical

placement of these two structures is a symbolic representation of American dominance and

influential power over Mexico.

The artistic decisions Outerbridge’s makes about what to photograph and include in his

collection, invites his viewers to wonder about aspects of that particular image. While

considering the different implications and meanings of objects in “Women by Car,” viewers are

lead to wonder about the significance of there being only female figures depicted in the image.

What is being suggested by the absence of a male figure in the photo? What further insight does

this provide into the significance of the photo as a whole?

Regardless, the similarity that is visually apparent in both “Woman by Car” and “Gas
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Station is the theme of transportation and movement. The presence of several cars in the photo

“Woman by Car,” inform the viewer of the woman’s’ status, depict their way of life, and imply a

sense of universal freedom. The women are characteristically labeled as Americans because of

their association in the photo to the automobile, a defining American icon. Their expressions,

stances, and energy transpire into a power that allows viewers to believe the woman have the

ability to freely leave the place of where the photo is set and venture elsewhere. This

commanding freedom the photograph captures, gives way to the possibility that these woman are

leaving an environment that is filled with energy and action to go to a place of less stimulation,

like the ones depicted in “Gas Station.”

Taken in Mazatlan, Mexico, “Gas Station” is a depiction of an old abandoned service

station. The image embodies a feeling of emptiness along with a sense of struggle, which is what

characteristically defines all of Outerbridge’s photos of Mexico. Similar to “Woman by Car,” the

power of “Gas Station” comes from what is not seen by the viewer. The main focus of the image

is the abandoned station, but a new and in service station is shown in the background of the

photo. The representation of the old and new station next to each other can be seen as symbolism

of the Old World and its connection to the New World.

Though this symbolism does provoke thoughts about the depiction of the two worlds

together, the real interest of this photo lies in the way it embodies, like in “Woman by Car,” the

theme of transportation. Captured in the photo are two ways of transportation. In the foreground

there is a woman walking, and towards the middle of the image one can see a man filling up a

gas tank with his bike rested up against the gas pump. Though these two ways of transportation

are physically seen in the photo, a third is suggested and invisibly portrayed. The setting of the

photograph is implication to the third way movement and transportation fill the image, that being
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cars.

These several forms of transportation that Outerbridge has creatively caught in the image

create conflicting forces that construct an interesting dynamic for the viewer. The setting of the

gas station implies the New World way of transportation, automobiles. However, the photo is of

a deserted gas station taken in the location of what represents the Old World.

As in “Women by Car,” “Gas Station” embodies the cultural influence and presence of

both Mexico and California. Although it does so in different ways, what is symbolically

represented in the image gives definition to the connection both places have with one another.

The beauty of Outerbridge’s work is that it attempts to do precisely what he articulated as

the artist’s role: “ the artist is given the privilege of pointing the way and inspiring towards a

better life." It was because of this point of view that Outerbridge achieved the meaning that he

did in his images, and was able to make connections between places not normally associated.

The photos in New Color Photographs from Mexico and California don’t just depict influential

power and existence; they also provoke a desire within viewers to see their own lives, ordinary

as they may be, as being composed of moments that have the same quiet drama of an

Outerbridge photograph. We may think of our lives as an almost constant stream of the mundane

and forgettable, interrupted by significant events that define us. Outerbridge’s images remind us

that each moment in life has its own significance and poetry.