All About Photo is pleased to present 'Lost America' by Matthew Portch.
All About Photo proudly presents an exclusive online exhibition featuring the work of the British photographer Matthew Portch. On view throughout September 2024, this captivating showcase includes twenty street photographs from his acclaimed series ‘Lost America.’
More info: all-about-photo.com | mattportch.com | Instagram | all-about-photo.com
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66 Drive-In, MO
LOST AMERICA
'Lost America' examines a quiet stillness in a forgotten landscape that is, in a sense, ‘on pause.’ Backwater towns and rural corners are juxtaposed with the ambiguity of detached suburbia. Places appear frozen in time, their inhabitants absent or long since departed. Ardently stagnant in appearance, the spaces yearn to instill a melancholic feeling of familiarity. One might not notice the scenes when viewed within the vast stretch of America’s panorama. Yet, framed as a vignette, each could appear to echo a moment of mournful reverie and reflective contemplation.
Water Tower, NJ
i love it how (it seems) that neighbor only cut half of the grass that is dividing their plots
Buried Car, CA
Payphone, NM
Law Office, NM
Prada, TX
Ford Drive In, Mi
Hoop By The Sea, CA
Tree Of Life, UT
Penitentiary Bus, La
Chevy With Flames, CA
Refinery Cemetary, LA
Picnic Stands, MN
That's MN after the apocalypse maybe. This is typical of today's society. You don't need to be correct about anything you say. You can just make assumptions and hope no one notices.
Little America, WY
The Wall Frame, AR
This is at Meteor Crater in Arizona. We were there 2 years ago. Why are all these posts incorrectly identified???
House By The Canefields, LA
Empty Pool, CA
Paiute Drain, NV
Baptist Church, LA
I can assure you that Baptist churches are still doing very well on church days.
Recreation Area, UT
The captions on these suck, but that seems to be the fault of the author, not the photographer. His website doesn't have any of these places actually named. I don't think "lost America" was a fitting title, but the goal of capturing liminal spaces was done well imo
"Places appear frozen in time, their inhabitants absent or long since departed. Ardently stagnant in appearance, the spaces yearn to instill a melancholic feeling of familiarity." A cool description of a simple but lovely project! Here's the project on the photographers website: https://www.mattportch.com/lost-america
FWIW, I enjoyed this. Unlike the individual who seemed to find some fault or something to be offended about, I thought they were cool.
Just cause the pictures are pretty doesn't mean the misinformation is okay. Plus it kinda paints a negative picture of rural US by claiming that it's "Lost"
Load More Replies...@Mike F: A lot of the photos were pretty cool in and of themselves. But the intro says this isn't just some random BP collection. It's supposed to be an "art installation" and it is titled "Lost America". That's pretty s****y artistry, since almost none of these photos had anything to do with a "Lost America". And some of the titles were simply incorrect. Just really poor quality. I'm pretty darn sure Ron Man wasn't "offended". He was annoyed, as am I.
I like these photographs. I think the emptiness and lack of life brings a very strong sense of stillness. Lost America doesn't seem a terribly unfitting title, it could be about being lost in America, or how we've lost America, or any number of interpretations. I think Matthew Portch has a good collection of photographs here ☺️
Near where I live, there is a run - down dogtrot house with corn growing in the backyard. The house sits between a dollar store and a local grocery.
Well, I think these are interesting pictures. Don't care if it's Lost America or not (because so many people are saying it's not) but they give the sense of lost (and I'm not from America anyways so whatever)... I just like the style: no people, nicely framed places and things, curious places.
Two things, one if you're going to label things, do it right. Two, have the understanding that people make typos, and resist the urge to correct everything.. I never have wanted to not seen the comments so badly. Good job at ruining something that was intended as entertainment.
Obviously people don't read anymore. "Lost America whatever that means" Ron certainly didn't because the article TOLD you what the inspiration was behind this series. I'm sorry if your comprehension skills are lacking but that's no reason the attack someone else. Also if you're upset about the captions, fine, but if you look at the State Abbreviations you can see it's a simple mix-up Marnie. The perhaps of this article was to show the artwork of someone who captured moments in time that are relatable, nostalgic, and even eerie. Nowhere did they say these places were abandoned. The fact that they are 'normal' places without any people is the whole point. Ugh.
Nice list. Couldn't stand the annoying a*s comments under nearly every post, though. I understand "Lost America" through my own perspective and can see it through many of these images. Can't say the same for everyone else though, but not sure why they've got to make it everybody else's problem.
Well, that was a bit disappointing wasn't it? While a lot of these photos were actually the photographer's, they were butchered with the taglines and misinformation. To the photographer's credit, he doesn't name the places in the photos on his website. I think that was BP's doing? Although Lost America is a very debatable title. Chalk it up to being bc we're all Americans who have intimate knowledge on what actually counts as lost in our society. Bonnets and buggies don't even make that list. Silly Brits, your American is just as bad as our British. Here's my only beef, as an amateur photographer, so many of them are similar to photographs taken by vacationers and regular joes that they really didn't stand out. I feel that the artist just Google searched interesting places and took us on their road trip. Ok Ron Man, you can continue to troll if you'd like.
These don't seem that rundown or that lost. A bit parched maybe. Isolated with symmetry perhaps. I've seen way more desolate than this. But, some of them are good photos. I think he needs to play with light more as these all look like they were taken middle of the f-stop and the shutter or on automatic.
I hesitate to embarrass the editors but what kind of camera did he use?
The captions on these suck, but that seems to be the fault of the author, not the photographer. His website doesn't have any of these places actually named. I don't think "lost America" was a fitting title, but the goal of capturing liminal spaces was done well imo
"Places appear frozen in time, their inhabitants absent or long since departed. Ardently stagnant in appearance, the spaces yearn to instill a melancholic feeling of familiarity." A cool description of a simple but lovely project! Here's the project on the photographers website: https://www.mattportch.com/lost-america
FWIW, I enjoyed this. Unlike the individual who seemed to find some fault or something to be offended about, I thought they were cool.
Just cause the pictures are pretty doesn't mean the misinformation is okay. Plus it kinda paints a negative picture of rural US by claiming that it's "Lost"
Load More Replies...@Mike F: A lot of the photos were pretty cool in and of themselves. But the intro says this isn't just some random BP collection. It's supposed to be an "art installation" and it is titled "Lost America". That's pretty s****y artistry, since almost none of these photos had anything to do with a "Lost America". And some of the titles were simply incorrect. Just really poor quality. I'm pretty darn sure Ron Man wasn't "offended". He was annoyed, as am I.
I like these photographs. I think the emptiness and lack of life brings a very strong sense of stillness. Lost America doesn't seem a terribly unfitting title, it could be about being lost in America, or how we've lost America, or any number of interpretations. I think Matthew Portch has a good collection of photographs here ☺️
Near where I live, there is a run - down dogtrot house with corn growing in the backyard. The house sits between a dollar store and a local grocery.
Well, I think these are interesting pictures. Don't care if it's Lost America or not (because so many people are saying it's not) but they give the sense of lost (and I'm not from America anyways so whatever)... I just like the style: no people, nicely framed places and things, curious places.
Two things, one if you're going to label things, do it right. Two, have the understanding that people make typos, and resist the urge to correct everything.. I never have wanted to not seen the comments so badly. Good job at ruining something that was intended as entertainment.
Obviously people don't read anymore. "Lost America whatever that means" Ron certainly didn't because the article TOLD you what the inspiration was behind this series. I'm sorry if your comprehension skills are lacking but that's no reason the attack someone else. Also if you're upset about the captions, fine, but if you look at the State Abbreviations you can see it's a simple mix-up Marnie. The perhaps of this article was to show the artwork of someone who captured moments in time that are relatable, nostalgic, and even eerie. Nowhere did they say these places were abandoned. The fact that they are 'normal' places without any people is the whole point. Ugh.
Nice list. Couldn't stand the annoying a*s comments under nearly every post, though. I understand "Lost America" through my own perspective and can see it through many of these images. Can't say the same for everyone else though, but not sure why they've got to make it everybody else's problem.
Well, that was a bit disappointing wasn't it? While a lot of these photos were actually the photographer's, they were butchered with the taglines and misinformation. To the photographer's credit, he doesn't name the places in the photos on his website. I think that was BP's doing? Although Lost America is a very debatable title. Chalk it up to being bc we're all Americans who have intimate knowledge on what actually counts as lost in our society. Bonnets and buggies don't even make that list. Silly Brits, your American is just as bad as our British. Here's my only beef, as an amateur photographer, so many of them are similar to photographs taken by vacationers and regular joes that they really didn't stand out. I feel that the artist just Google searched interesting places and took us on their road trip. Ok Ron Man, you can continue to troll if you'd like.
These don't seem that rundown or that lost. A bit parched maybe. Isolated with symmetry perhaps. I've seen way more desolate than this. But, some of them are good photos. I think he needs to play with light more as these all look like they were taken middle of the f-stop and the shutter or on automatic.
I hesitate to embarrass the editors but what kind of camera did he use?