WISH YOU WERE HERE

“Dismantling cherished fables about the Old West and stripping the romance from the history of “Westward Ho,” newer studies have exhumed the human casualties and environmental costs of American expansion. Offering little glory, these interpretations of how the West was lost have accented the savagery of American civilization.” — Stephen Aron, Smithsonian Magazine

The Great Plains of the Midwest are known for their prairie fields and pioneer history, along with a landscape uninterrupted for miles. Although referred to as flyover country, this region is full of tourist destinations for the road-trippers making their way out West. Wish You Were Here examines the ways the Great Plains region is romanticized using legends, folklore, and histories. This history is often commodified through roadside attractions where tourists participate in rituals, like photo-ops or buying souvenirs, as experience and inclusion in these histories. The nostalgia of these rituals often clouds tourist perspectives, creating complicity in continuing flawed narratives.

While the legends of the Great Plains are rooted in truth, from the infamous Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show to the spirits of the Badlands, the stories grow to overshadow some grim truths of Midwestern history. These stories become a sense of pride and comfort for the local population, who use iconography to perpetuate colonial ideals such as manifest destiny and the Wild West. These ideologies shape historic and contemporary narratives.

The images in this series reveal the reality of tourist interactions in roadside attractions rather than the typical picturesque postcards. The images highlight aspects of truth within the idyll, including concealed histories, tourist engagement, surrounding infrastructure, and pastoral nature. Images have the power to inform our histories and it is our responsibility to find the truth in the myths. Today’s contentious social and political environment is a product of the perpetuation of these myths. With awareness of this history, the authenticity of these spaces as well as their interpretations is put into question. We are able to bring awareness to overlooked narratives and respond to them through our actions and revisions.

“Wish You Were Here examines how we commodify the historical narratives of the Great Plains without questioning their truths or authenticity…[Knedler] created an immersive space that forced us to reconsider the selling of the West, romanticized, commodified, and sanitized for happy family outings. With all American history, it’s critical to acknowledge the truth.” - Aline Smithson, Lenscratch

This project has been exhibited at the Vermont Center for Photography, Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and the Wellington B. Gray Gallery in Greenville, North Carolina. It has been awarded an Lucie Scholarship Fine Art Professional, Honorable Mention by Lucie Foundation and has been in the featured by organizations including Lenscratch, Photolucida’s Critical Mass, the Worldwide Photography Gala Awards and the Julia Margaret Cameron Awards, Society of Photographic Education, F-Stop Magazine, and Dek Unu Magazine.

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