Salt Hill and Bridge, 2008
In Chad Hallblade’s Salt Hill and Bridge, a massive, industrial building frames two mountainous peaks, each appearing icy blue against the overcast sky. The tight composition and sharp, curving lines of the photograph downplay any reference to three-dimensional space within the image. Hallblade’s conscious evasion of linear perspective emphasizes the flatness of the photographic medium, and suggests that a modernist influence informs his work.
Taken on Jones Island, an industrial peninsula housing Milwaukee’s inner harbor, Salt Hill and Bridge showcases a clash between the man-made and the natural. In the photograph, the arched metal structure blocks our view of the cranes, forklifts, and freight containers that litter the island. By framing out the surrounding industrial debris, Hallblade draws our attention to the piles of road salt, two picturesque summits that could be mistaken for snow-covered mountaintops. However, Jones Island is virtually barren of trees or grass. And, these hills of the salt, which coat the city’s roads during winter months, are a major source of environmental decay, wreaking havoc on local lakes and wildlife. In reimagining this scene as an urban wilderness, the artist plays with our expectations of the natural landscape.
