Pleased to Meat You

These images dovetail into my larger exploration of suburban culture and identity. There are many opportunities for interaction among neighbors, but none are as significant as the cookout. I produced these photographs with simple motives. They are formal compositions built with food that can be consumed at a outdoor gathering. Clarity and intimacy was my primary concern. They are still life set ups of something real, monumental and vibrant. The colors and shapes matter as much as food itself.

Cookouts are not exclusive to a suburban environment. That said, amongst the various activities that take place in a neighborhood, a cookout is one of the scarce opportunities that the suburban citizen willingly partakes in to build community with his fellow neighbors. An art exhibit about a cookout is certainly removed from the real experience. There is no fire and no outside. In the context of an exhibit, these elements cannot be directly appreciated and consumed, yet the idea remains. Like a barbecue, an opening is a ritual gathering.

As a title “Pleased to Meat You” operates on several levels. It is an obvious play on words. It is an affirmation of my carnivorous ways. It is a pure and truthful statement about my time as a grad student, friend and neighbor to the many people I have met along the way. This is a salutation to everyone who comes to look and share some time, and if they bring a dish to pass, all the better.

One of the most important elements of a cookout is the food. It is what puts the ‘cook’ into cookout. Cookout food is not fancy. It does not need to be on fine china in seven courses. Never the less it is universally understood as something special. Much of it can be enjoyed with minimal utensils. These are everyday meals that probably should not be enjoyed everyday. Once in a while though, it is acceptable to indulge in excess calories and alcohol in the name of celebrating friendship and the weekend.

Variations on a theme

Eventually the goal is to use up the reruns and post some new material, but I had forgotten about these compositions.

This is the photo that inspired the following images. Stacked horizons. Layers of places.

Perspective

In our last episode of digging up photos of unremarkable places, I started to explore some images that I hadn’t looked at closely in many years. The images I am going to share are from 2006 – 2011 if the metadata is to be believed.

After taking the initial black and white film images, I started to notice that the thing I was interested in was often occurring on the horizon line. This view is facing south from Egre road in Sun Prairie, WI. Some of the compositions really work. The above image almost becomes symbolic and less about the place and more about the different parts. Water, houses, fields.

I don’t think this image is particularly successful. I don’t remember taking it, or stitching together. Why I am sharing it is this – Just beyond the weeds, grass and empty fields is Walnut Hill Lane. This is West Prairie Village, where I currently live. I didn’t know it at the time, but this photo was taken from what could be my current lot. The street I live on was not constructed yet, but in a few years, this would change. The subdivision was started prior to the housing bubble crash that occurred in 2006. In this images there are about 12 houses. This view was captured in 2010. Today (2025) There are now around 120 households.

I didn’t really settle on a standard length. My methodology was this – Stop, park, set up a tripod, level it, attach my DSLR and telephoto lens. Take a series of frames that contained the area of interest. Vinyl houses, old barn, cornfield.

A majority of these are combined in Photoshop by carefully lining up each frame and then cleaning up the seams. Effective panoramic software hadn’t really been perfected yet. I just had to make sure there was sufficient overlap between frames and pick which layer would blend over another. The way I am displaying these images doesn’t really lend to seeing the details. Right now, that’s not the point.

Outskirts of Middleton, WI. Another baby subdivision. So many planned communities. So generic. Little boxes of made of ticky tacky. Places for your stuff. Places to raise a family.

This one has an ephemeral feel to it. It was take near Lake Geneva, WI. I should get back into the habit of keeping some photo gear with me. Smart phones have changed the way I think about using a camera. A pocket computer with a camera and internet was right around the corner. I lost something in the transition.

One last selection. I have about a dozen more. The images I have presented here are what I would consider to be the most successful. Looking back on this work, I have a different perspective and it’s easier to see what worked and what didn’t. Perspective.

Should I revisit some of these places or is it ok to let go of an idea? Is the place still interesting if it’s not on the edge? Time moves forward, places change. When dealing with a liminal spaces, what needs to be remembered?