By Charlie Hilton, Urban Times, 2012
Access to rare spots across the world can make the difference between an interesting shoot and a timeless reel of photography, and that is a philosophy that we have brought to the fore with our ‘Through the Eyes’ photo series. Not everyone can achieve this access though and some may choose to take less legally passable routes to achieve their goal of capturing the hidden gems of the world. Others may simply not have the resources to travel to the places that they long to document. Doug Rickard, with his sobering ‘A New American Picture‘ collection, managed to bypass both of these obstacles.
Who can give us the ability to navigate city streets across the world without even needing to be there in the physical? Google. Specifically, Google Street View. Most people that have used Google‘s maps soon work out that you can drag-and-drop yourself onto ground level to roam the area with only a few clicks – minimal stamina needed. Up until now, the only “art” that has materialised from the tool has been in the form of funny screenshots such as these. Rickard saw the opportunity to pursue his visual fascination with impoverished and degenerated areas of American cities, namely Detroit, and document the serendipitous meshing of technology and street life.
Although the photography work was published and exhibited back in 2010, the idea has continued to gather steam and is still making waves in the art world. The book is now on sale on Amazon in concurrence with a new exhibition in the Yossi Milo Gallery in New York, which opens on October 18th.