September 12 – November 12, 2019
These photographs were taken over the last 36 years of roadway-inspired Americana. Ron Dorson’s photographic mission to capture the romance and spirit of the American road, as our highway system evolved after WWII, began with an interest in the backroads of San Luis Obispo, CA in 1982. After 20 years of fieldwork, Dorson began to receive exhibit invitations all over the West. His framed work has been shipped to collectors all over the US. Dorson has a BA and an MA in sociology. He is the author of two books on the Indianapolis 500. Dorson has also written 13 photographic cover stories for the award-winning “Woodie Times” magazine, which specializes in the history and preservation of the wooden bodied cars built in the United States during the 30s, 40s, and 50s.
From 1976 through 1984, Ron Dorson drove for Greyhound Lines in their Western Division, as an interstate bus driver, logging over 600,000 miles. He worked out of Reno and Elko, NV; Salt Lake City, UT; Flagstaff and Tucson, AZ; Albuquerque, NM; and El Paso, TX. It was this great adventure, driving through blinding rainstorms and blizzards, over majestic mountains of 8,000 feet, and through endless miles of bucolic countryside, that inspired his idea to photograph road art. This became Dorson’s arena. He was destined to follow in the footsteps of Jack London and Jack Kerouac. It was the sense of exhilarating freedom, the mystery, surprise, and history of the open road that fueled his passion.
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