American Dreaming - Lee Patrick Wilson

Following a 10 hour flight high above the clouds across the mighty Atlantic Ocean and vast land of America, as the plane touched down under the hot Nevada sun, I set foot on US soil with my family, a journey now so quick and effortless compared to the journey of the first people and later European colonists of the land. Our first visit to the USA the excitement streaked through us, first touching the floor and walking on the hallowed land, I felt like jumping for joy, kneeling down and kissing the ground smiling ear to ear, looking at each other with eyes filled with excitement finally we were there the big USA, the cultural home of the 20th Century Western World. In the distance the famous Las Vegas Strip forming a silhouette between the hot sandy desert and blue sunny sky, like a popup book it stood with its eclectic, iconic modern surreal architecture just beyond reach, the Las Vegas strip and a new tourist city teeming with life, filling a small part of the once barren desert, a symbol of American culture although we would learn not to all Americans tastes, an example of what can be achieved in such a short space of time, the empty desert space of the 1950’s to the metropolis that exists today and is enjoyed by so many, one city within the state of Nevada, one state of 50 to discover in the United States of America, all having a uniquely different character and culture to the next, yet all distinctly & proudly American.

Lifelong connected by Movies & TV, Music and the Wild West, news stories & the American dream; Born in the early 1980’s the US culture had made a connection and deep imprint in the heart of me, the background of western life a byproduct of pro capitalist propaganda from the cold war era and how it worked, myself and millions like me the world over hold America as the beacon of light for Modern Man in the late 20th and early 21st Century. This connection felt strong and true despite initially never actually visiting the country or seeing the great land and its people with my own senses. Instead perhaps adoration is given to a reflection of an American Dream made from the mind of a TV or film director, or a script writers ideal of an America that they also imagined, capturing the nostalgia and character of a land or time that never was or existed so briefly that it was no more than a changing wind; shown on TV sets and Movie screens throughout the world. Would the America I had fallen in love with, the ideals, the land of the free & home of the brave, a classless society where with hard work and effort anyone can achieve anything really exist, would it, could it?

I have been lucky enough to visit America a handful of times now and I hope I can visit many times more as the America I have seen and experienced for me lives up to expectations, America offers in parts a surreal and unusual land in one way not that far different to England and Europe with shared western ideals and philosophy, yet entirely different at the same time, the land, the big country undivided, united by the seemingly endless roads, rivers, skies and beautiful country, America certainly is the land of the free and home of the brave. Perhaps the nostalgic 50’s era America is gone for good but what exists in its place is no less unique and worth experiencing, the land and its people culturally diverse from state to state and person to person but all holding a love for the flag and the American Dream, ensuring this stays alive for anyone wanting to try for it, like most things in life its just deciding which dream is for you and in America from what I have seen the people are free to choose any lifestyle they want to live.

Back across the Atlantic Ocean in England the daily news creates opinions on American Politics and Leaders yet we are not American and are a long way from the USA, we speak of Trump and I am guilty of this too as though he where our leader or our opinion of him and US politics would somehow influence decisions made there, yet clearly won’t as we are observing the news stories of a land thousands of miles away. In the land of the free, in the land of opportunity where Americans come first in their own land, the fact that Trump could secure the highest position in the USA; Presidency, should be inspirational and speaks volumes of America in an entirely positive light, that in America anyone can become leader, anyone can achieve anything and serves as proof that the American Dream is alive and kicking and Democracy is real. President Trump who like all of us is an imperfect person living in an imperfect world, yet he is a true American who having set his sights on his American Dream has rallied around the United States, captured the hearts and minds of the voting public, loved by his supporters and democratically beating his opponents despite their opinion of him to achieve that dream, the World along for the ride until the next election 2020 when the American public decide again on the next leader of America, on the next leader of the Western World. Will the next leader bring Hope, Light & stability that Obama brought to the World or more uncertainty and conflict, only time will tell?

For this project American Dreaming I hope to visit America many more times and firstly enjoy the journey through the country, the changing & varied beautiful landscapes of the different states culture and people whilst viewing the American Dream for myself and experiencing a taste of this along the way. Making photographic Art of early 21stCentury America through the eyes of an English Tourist which may one day be looked at another 100 hundred years downstream of time and inspire someone to do the same, as I was inspired by an art exhibition I saw at the New Orleans Art Museum “East of the Mississippi” Nineteenth-Century American Landscape Photography. Seeing the building of Modern America and the massive undertaking of taming the wild country lands of the United States and the mammoth task this must have been to undertake, witnessing the people of the time the ghosts of a moment, the photographer, the people, the landscape captured in an image through time seen again 100 years later, or in time a 1000 years later, every year that passes the photo matures in its meaning, importance and rarity giving an insight to future generations of what it was like to live in our time & to visit the great land of the USA. In a modern world over saturated with video and tv, advertisements and expectations, simple photos taken through the eyes of an everyday person of everyday things, the things that most excite me when visiting America, the sign posts, the streets, the people, the culture & scenery, scenes and images of cities & natural landscapes that I think capture a glimpse of the Spirit of 21st Century America, I hope you enjoy the journey with me in my search for America, my own American Dreaming.