This is a video I came across during my research process when analysing Alec Soth’s work ‘Niagara‘.  I felt this interview was very beneficial when exploring his prospect of the project and his thoughts on love as an open force within the location.

Bio

Alec Soth is a photographer and artist from Minneapolis, United States.  who makes “large-scale American projects” featuring the midwestern United States. His photography has a ‘cinematic‘ feel with elements of folklore that hint at a story and a narrative behind his images.

New York Times art critic Hilarie M. Sheets wrote that he has made a “photographic career out of finding chemistry with strangers” and photographs “loners and dreamers“. According to The Guardian art critic Hannah Booth, his work tends to focus on the “off-beat, hauntingly banal images of modern America”. Soth’s work has been compared to that of Walker Evans and Stephen Shore and is a member of Magnum Photographs.

The Context behind Niagara Falls

For hundreds of years, couples from around the world have made their way to Niagara Falls to reaffirm and celebrate their love. Niagara Falls has earned its title as the

“Honeymoon Capital of the World”

in the early 1800‘s as the world’s most wealthy, notable and elite people began to travel to Western New York for its Great Lakes, jaw-dropping vistas and,  the scenic wonder of Niagara Falls. This location became a rich haven for people most fortunate to visit, and was instantly labeled as an upper-class gold mine for romance and tranquility. When the Erie Canal opened in 1825, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean via the Hudson River, Niagara Falls suddenly became more accessible. Couples were drawn, not only to its thundering, majestic waters, but also to Niagara Falls State Park and its many green, secluded nooks and paths. The spacious, sublime scenery was an idealic place for love. Today, Niagara still lives up to its glorious reputation, whether on your honeymoon, wedding, an anniversary treat or to honor a long-standing family tradition of love, couples embrace this special destination for the one-of-a-kind attractions that have charmed millions for centuries. From Niagara Falls itself to the Maid of the Mist- couples can get up close and personal with the Horseshoe Falls and get kissed by the mist. This special location provides a honeymoon you’ll treasure and fondly remember throughout your years together.

“Niagara”, 2006

Soth uses a range of landscape and portrait images to re-connect the idea of love with the picturesque monument Niagara Falls. This location sparks various emotions connected to romance, as it can be seen as an notorious spot for Marriage, proposals, and even breakups within relationships. The dramatic sequence of Soth’s impacting work “Niagara”, narrates love as a histrionic force, embarking its truth and purpose within American culture.

“I went to Niagara for the same reason as the honeymooners and suicide jumpers,”
(2008.)

Soth explores  various uses of mixed media; collections of love letters which have been found in various locations surrounding Niagara, such as motels and lets,  surround the extreme emotional ties this location has in terms of love. This clever narrative form allows the reader to understand love as a round perspective, questioning the truth between Soth’s original photographs and peoples’ personal archival diaries. Soth adds thats when he photographs people, he feels nervous at times:

“My own awkwardness comforts people, I think. It’s part of the exchange.”

Soth’s persona within this series counteracts his relationship with the subject he’s photographing. For instance, his comfort in finding love within relationships could be a manipulated subject, he doesn’t know himself what the definition of love is therefore approaching the aim in a rounded way. The inclusion of actual “love letters” and “confessions,” using actual documents and artefacts as devices to tell his story make the book overall more personal and invasive.

“I became interested in the idea of Niagara as a metaphor for love and passion and began e exploring those themes. Why do people have honeymoons in Niagara Falls? Why is it associated with sexuality and passion and new love?”
Magnum in Motion. (2007).

One of his photos is of “Melissa” in a bridal gown sitting outside what appears to be a motel; he describes having made an arrangement with a particular wedding chapel in Niagara Falls which let him take pictures of couples getting married, by photographing them after their weddings. The sort of simplicity and bareness behind the photograph underlines it stereotyped feel, it can be easily repeated and sanctioned for people to copy. The fact Soth has decided to photograph her in a non-recognised, less significant area, makes the reader feel compelled more to her facial expression. Soth’s closely analysed photographs brings out the common ground within American Society.

Soth also uses the falls as a constant referral within his book. Every so often there would be a break within portraits which shows a repetition of different images of the falls. This symbolically could represent a constant reminder to the reader of the main source of love within this series. This also can present different forms of love in a very effective, clever way, as Soth plays with the idea of how Landscapes bring out emotions in Portraits, much like Rita-Puig Serra Costa in my previous study of “Where Mimosa Bloom”. Soth does this very regularly throughout his study, for instance his work “The Great Leap Sideways, 25 Niagara 28 Falls” (below), may suggest an anger, and a negative affluence with connection to his images, as the darkness within its frame suggests Niagara for some a place of violence and deceit. On the other hand, the image below shows a parallel with those images associated with passion and desire, as the red colours illustrate these positive emotions.