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Veggie Powered Photographer
Holt Webb presents ‘Vanishing America’
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Sunday, February 8, 2009
3:30 -- 5:00 p.m.
$3 Suggested donation (but no one turned away for lack of funds.)
Georgia-based photographer Holt Webb is traveling the country for five years in a veggie oil- and solar-powered RV, capturing images for a project he calls Vanishing America
See the video!
He will present some of those images and talk about his travel experiences in conjunction with the Running on Empty group exhibit, which includes four of his photographs.
Webb, who was born in Alpharetta, Georgia, and received a bachelor's of fine arts from the University of Georgia in 1992, said the goal of the project is to document treasures of American culture and landscape that could be lost in the next generation or two.
"America is changing fast. And, sometimes change is good," he said. "But sometimes change destroys the things we love about our country. Hopefully these images, and the ones that will follow as I travel across the United States, will remind people how precious, how ephemeral, and how important these aspects of our country and our culture are."
His subjects have included wild horses in California, wetlands and swamps of the South, historic architecture and members of what has become known as the 'greatest generation.'
Because traveling the country for five years (with two cats!) would require burning a tremendous amount of fossil fuel, Webb converted both an RV he calls ‘BABS,’ and a Land Rover he calls ‘the Greasy Beast’ into diesel-powered vehicles capable of running on veggie oil. The photo-bedecked RV, which is also outfitted with solar panels for electricity generation, will be parked outside ATHICA during Webb's visit.
Among other topics, he will discuss how it has become more difficult to acquire the veggie oil he filters for use as fuel. Within just ten months, Webb went from being able to acquire it for free from deep fryers across America, to having to pay $1 a gallon for it, as companies began offering restaurants contracts for the petroleum substitute. (Webb also will give a presentation to a class of aspiring artists at UGA on Thursday, February 5.)
Webb has acquired a unique view of America and is inspired by its promise for a cleaner, more sustainable future as well as its disappearing traditions and histories. ATHICA is honored to include his contributions in Running on Empty.
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