Not everyone can – or should – buy a home, but that didn’t stop many homebuyers from pursuing the American Dream, even if they couldn’t afford it. The result? The worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. But, the American Dream – or the illusion of the dream – is still alive and well: consider Valley Gardens in Solvang, California (near Santa Barbara), which offers a monthly rental of “new manufactured housing inspired by cottage style homes.”  

The community offers all the trappings of Americana, including street lighting, fire hydrants, paving, landscaping, individual porches…even a Main Street of sorts. Every unit even features a two car driveway. If you squint your eyes hard enough, you might see something other than a dressed-up mobile home park. But, open your eyes and you see a sadness that permeates the space – a sort of loneliness. Valley Gardens is only a poor facsimile of “Any Town, U.S.A.” Living here is not the American Dream, it’s only an illusion. But, sometimes close is good enough.

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By Myself (or, “Are You Happy?”)

Often, I’m only happy when I’m by myself, alone with my thoughts, isolated from the requisite pressures and responsibilities of a 40-year-old husband and father. These images are designed to convey the sense of emptiness and aloneness that I often seek as an escape, where I the viewer am the only participant. But, the solace of isolation is but a fleeting moment and deliberate illusion. While the scenes are without people, there is tangible evidence that people were here, and will be back again. The spaces are empty for only the moment I escape to them with my camera. When I leave, they will be once again occupied — just as I will be once again connected to my everyday life.

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“A heart that’s full up like a landfill

A job that slowly kills you

Bruises that won’t heal

“…I’ll take a quiet life

A handshake of carbon monoxide.”

(Radiohead)

I’m forty years-old with a wife, two daughters, a house, and a nice car. I have a good job and lots of friends. I have little to complain about. Yet, I often times I feel more isolated than ever. Despite all the good around me, some days I’m happiest alone – isolated from the mounting responsibilities and pressures of my everyday life.

The images are designed to convey the sense of emptiness and aloneness that I often seek as an escape. Yet, I don’t feel total disillusion. The solace of isolation is but a fleeting moment or perhaps an illusion. For that reason, while the scenes are without people, there is evidence that people were there, and will be back again — a coffee cup, sneaker marks, an empty car, graffiti, even the buildings themselves are empty for only the moment I see them with my camera. When I leave, they will be once again occupied — just as I will be once again connected to my everyday life.

Slide show of all images:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffseltzer/sets/72157624422273802/show/

What do you see as the commonality (besides the processing)? I’m looking for help tying these images together, or a perhaps they don’t belong together, or they aren’t “worth” it? What’s the theme? What do they say to YOU (if anything)?? I need help with my artist statement!

Here’s a link to a slideshow (with a couple extras):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffseltzer/sets/72157624422273802/show/