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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Sixty One: Signs as symbols > Evening, Kayenta, Arizona, 2009
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14-NOV-2009

Evening, Kayenta, Arizona, 2009

Neon signs featuring the logos of two of America’s premiere fast food outlets blaze in the rain along the main street of this town on the Navajo Indian reservation. A long message board, periodically flashing special offerings, shows a slice of American heraldry just as I shot this image, while traffic rumbles past in the background. All of it is wrapped in utility wiring. Here, on the very outskirts of Monument Valley itself, a town salutes a pair of rural American icons: the automobile and the fast food parlor.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1
1/160s f/5.0 at 120.0mm iso640 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time14-Nov-2009 17:05:16
MakePanasonic
ModelDMC-G1
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length120 mm
Exposure Time1/160 sec
Aperturef/5
ISO Equivalent640
Exposure Bias-1.00
White Balance
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis06-Dec-2009 18:57
Thanks, Iris. Yes, this image would be incongruous to those who see the fast food signs here as symbols of American culture. In this small town, inhabited by Native Americans, such signs as these have become primary landmarks. I see it as ironic -- Indian culture, the very thing that draws tourists such as us to this area, vanishes under a neon blanket of assimilation.
Iris Maybloom (irislm)06-Dec-2009 18:20
The epitome of incongruity!
Phil Douglis25-Nov-2009 23:44
Thanks -- I waited for the message board to display the American flag (it was on for only a few seconds between advertisements). It not only symbolizes the fast food presence in our country, but as you say, it brings corporate America on to the reservation as well. The MacDonald's arches fit the scene well, as you say -- this part of the Southwest is the home of the natural arch.
Tim May25-Nov-2009 23:28
I see two interesting things in this image one is the American flag in the sign - a symbol of corporate America even in the home of the native Americans - and the way that the Arches remind of the buttes in Monument Valley and Arches National Park.
Phil Douglis24-Nov-2009 02:32
Fast food restaurants, along with Walmart, have come to dominate the landscape of much of rural America. It all comes down to a matter of price -- you can feed a family for less at MacDonald's and clothe it for less at Walmart. This image is really about the homogenization of America, Carol.
Carol E Sandgren24-Nov-2009 00:55
Oh god, MacDonalds have become now a beacon on a dark and rainy evening... with its rays of yellow and red neon promising warmth inside, along with warm and fast, cheap food. Americans have come to rely on such stops and has become an all too important part of our culinary tradition, especially when on the road. It is hard to resist. This image certainly carries a strong message with it....and the marketers of MacDonalds certainly have done their homework here.
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