Project 4- Sense of Place Top 5

April 01, 2022

Project 4- Sense of Place Top 5

Hometown

Artist Statement

As I’ve gotten older, family has become more important to me than anything. I’ll often think back to when I was younger and how I wouldn’t truly take in the time I had with family, especially my grandparents. As I’ve lost grandparents, I’ve started to incorporate more of their lives into mine with food, actions, and love. In a weird way, I’ve also become closer with my father because of it.

That being said, this project is based on the hometown of my father: Long Lake, SD. Not only is it his hometown, but it’s a place that is home to me too. The memories of the time we spent in Long Lake over Christmas, Easter, or a random weekend in June, are some of the best memories I have. However, with time, things fade. Both memories and buildings.

For this works of art, I’ve captured the fading town of Long Lake, SD. While it is still a town with a population of 31, many of the buildings are falling apart or being torn down. It may not be long before hardly any of the older buildings stand. I wanted to capture the old buildings and the stories behind them as my father tells me about his home town.

-Olivia Gohl