Opening Reception: June 7th, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Artist Talk: 6:30 p.m.
When Montanans go outside to experience the natural world, it is not without traveling along the roadways, hiking under powerlines that span valleys, fishing below dams, or floating under a bridge. Utility infrastructure is ubiquitous and familiar. Some of it features in our scenic photos and memories. These places are relatable and recognizable, part of our perception of Montana.
Over the past 25 years, artist Kristi Hager has photographed dams, power plants, missile sites, and bridges across Montana for the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), which are now archived in the Library of Congress.
One of Hager’s mandates, aside from straight documentation of the site, was to produce an image of the highest aesthetic quality. This effort resulted in a vast archive of over 600 images. Many of the structures have continued to weather, disintegrate, or be actively dismantled. Some are no longer extant. Hager’s documentation of these historic structures provides a valuable resource for researchers and historic preservation efforts, while acting as a significant, almost poetic, visual record of Montana.
Hager says, “When I curse the wind, gumbo, barbed wire, 30 pounds of equipment, wet shoes, cold hands, hot sun, whatever unforeseen adversities, I think of Evelyn Cameron and stop whining. These photographs are not personal interpretations of the bridges. They are historical documents for national and state archives. Since these bridges will be gone someday, I feel a responsibility to make each view count. Each bridge is documented with a minimum of 10 views: two portals, two elevations, four diagonals, one context, and one or more structural details. As I work my way around a bridge, I consider what historians will want to know about how this bridge was constructed. I consider the folks who drive across the bridge regularly, how they see it from a distance, what they see from the bridge deck, how they will want to remember it. I consider the people who never will see this bridge in person. I want to make it look as beautiful as it is, with no spin.”
Recently, Tom Ferris scanned Hager’s original 4 x 5 inch photographic negatives, printing them on archival Hahnemuhle paper as 16 x 20 inch images.
The Missoula Art Museum worked with Hager to organize this exhibition, which is traveling under the auspices of the Montana Art Gallery Directors Association (MAGDA) and will travel to Explore the Arts in Hamilton; Holter Museum of Art in Helena; and MonDak Heritage Center in Sidney through 2025. Generous funding for this project provided by the Montana History Foundation.
Bridges:
Powerhouses:
Missile Alert Facilities (MAFs):
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