"FLYOVER COUNTRY - Volume One" / Artist Statement

Various Definitions of “Flyover Country” culled from Google, Wikipedia and Cambridge Dictionary:

"Flyover country is an American phrase describing the parts of the contiguous United States between the East and West Coasts. The term also refers to the interior regions of the country passed over during transcontinental flights, particularly flights between the nation’s two most populous urban agglomerations: the Northern Megalopolis and Southern California. The term is often used in reference to the general economic, developmental, cultural, and political differences between the urban coastal and rural central regions of the United States. “Flyover country” thus refers to the parts of the country that some Americans, especially those of urban, wealthier, white collar status, only view by air when traveling and never actually see in person at the ground level. The origins of the phrases and the attitudes of their supposed users are a source of debate in American culture; the terms often are regarded as pejoratives, but are sometimes “reclaimed” and used defensively."

During my business career, I have frequently flown from San Francisco or Los Angeles to the East Coast and back. From the comfort of the plane’s cabin at 40,000 feet, I have spent hours looking out the window transfixed by the slowly passing landscape and towns below. The rugged mountain peaks slowly give way to crop circles stretching out over the horizon. At night, cities appear as clusters of blinking lights, floating like ships in a dark, endless sea. The flights have always left me with unanswered questions about the world beneath me.

Returning to photography, I set out to explore the Western United States and the regions that I have flown over for years. My goal was to directly engage with both the land and its people.