The Salt Effect Statement
The Salt Effect is a phrase that I first heard while photographing during an artist-in-residency in northwestern Utah, a region of great beauty and harsh conditions. It was meant as a play off the term “The Lake Effect,” which describes the odor of the Great Salt Lake as the wind blows southward with a sulfur-like smell that ironically transforms a breathtaking place into one where it can be unpleasant to take a simple breath. The Salt Effect aptly describes my immersion and experience in the weather of the high desert surrounding the Great Salt Lake.
This series of photographs is my initial investigation into understanding the western landscape, while considering the implications and effect of salt on the environment. In order to do so a little history goes a long way.
In the 1860s the transcontinental railroad was completed and monumentalized at the Golden Spike. Thirty years later the Southern Pacific Railroad (SPRR) cut many miles off its difficult train route by building a wooden trestle that ran a line right across the Great Salt Lake. In the 1950s, the division in the lake was used to construct a causeway that completely separated the lake into two sections. This triggered significant changes in elevation levels as well as in the amount and balance of saline and brine, and the impact of the SPRR on the health of the Great Salt Lake is still being felt today.
This series of photographs is my initial investigation into understanding the western landscape, while considering the implications and effect of salt on the environment. In order to do so a little history goes a long way.
In the 1860s the transcontinental railroad was completed and monumentalized at the Golden Spike. Thirty years later the Southern Pacific Railroad (SPRR) cut many miles off its difficult train route by building a wooden trestle that ran a line right across the Great Salt Lake. In the 1950s, the division in the lake was used to construct a causeway that completely separated the lake into two sections. This triggered significant changes in elevation levels as well as in the amount and balance of saline and brine, and the impact of the SPRR on the health of the Great Salt Lake is still being felt today.