Stephen K. Hall: West of the 100th Meridian
The 100th meridian has played an almost mythical role in the history of the settlement of America’s western frontier. First identified by John Wesley Powell as the geographic and climatic dividing line between the long grass prairie of the more humid east and the short grass prairie of the arid west, it is, as some have opined, where “East meets West.”
Some have described the lands west of the divide as “the great empty middle,” parts of which have never exceeded the population density of the 19th-century frontier. Some say the self-sufficient and individualistic character of many of its inhabitants and communities derives partly from the relative isolation of the sparsely populated landscape.
With this cultural perspective as background, I endeavored, camera in hand, during my travels to record and interpret the current social landscape west of the 100th meridian, hoping that the images made during my sojourns would, in some small way, prove revelatory.
The prints exhibited here were all made over the past 7-8 years and are selected from a much larger group of images made throughout the United States during the same time period.
I will consider my efforts a success if those viewing these images come away with an enhanced understanding of and appreciation for the nuanced natural and man-altered beauty that continues to characterize the lands and communities of America west of the 100th meridian.
