I am always influenced by contrasts and the inherently conflicting elements of class, sexuality, religion, family.
So, a Route 66 was a natural evolution of my thinking. We have this romanticized idea of Route 66 and all that it embodies: trip adventure, excitement, heading West. The reality was that amid the excitement of “heading west”, you had a cacophony of people who were escaping the Dust Bowl, packing families into station wagons for long vacations, looking for work, or even meeting for sex.
To capture the intimacy of what has unfolded in any Route 66 motel room over the years, I lived in one for the duration of the shoot, leaving the room available to anyone who wanted to come by, any time of night or day. So the element of adventure and excitement lay in not knowing what was going to unfold, giving no direction and just capturing the intimacy of people’s real experiences. I had no idea what was going to transpire, and in some cases, neither did the subjects.
The textures of the motel room: the bed, scuffed walls, a popcorn ceiling, combined with the human elements of skin, body, fabrics, provided all materials I was looking for. They were perfect for a study in contrasts.
