Christine Armbruster and Dr. James Swensen, Department of Visual Arts
Artist Statement
While obtaining my Bachelor of Fine Art, I spent a lot of my time during those six years of school running away. First finding the need to get out of Provo, then Utah, and eventually America. It resulted in a lot of adventures, stories, and long drives. It was during these long drives that I consistently ran into each one of these small Utah towns, classically consisting of a corner store, a post office, and a child being pulled on a radio flyer. One after another after another. Slow down to 30 and watch the old signs from shops past inch through your windows until you can speed back up to 70 again. Eventually, I fell in love with these towns finding myself stopping in them more frequently, foregoing my final destination. I wanted to know more about the history, the stories, the people. And thus began this project over two years ago.
Temporarily quenching my wanderlust, these towns made me feel as if I was thousand of miles away, when in reality I was only an hours drive. It expanded my ability to go out of my comfort zone, to wander aimlessly, and to be patient while people told me their life stories. They helped me realize that each one of these mysterious towns has its own individual soul once you ask, just like any other major (or small) city in the world I will one day find myself in.
Title Cards
Interior of Brad’s Gun Shop.
Eureka, Utah
Archival Pigment Print
Christine Armbruster
Historically reproduced room in the Tintic Museum.
Eureka, Utah
Archival Pigment Print
Christine Armbruster
Court Room of the Eureka City Main Office.
Eureka, Utah
Archival Pigment Print
Christine Armbruster
Interior of the “Topless Bar”, the beer garden without a roof.
Eureka, Utah
Archival Pigment Print
Christine Armbruster
Billy Baum in one of his many abandoned buildings on Eureka’s Main Street.
Eureka, Utah
Archival Pigment Print
Christine Armbruster
Interior of an abandoned building.
Eureka, Utah
Archival Pigment Print
Christine Armbruster
Colton, far right, and two friends on a Saturday afternoon.
Goshen, Utah
Archival Pigment Print
Christine Armbruster
Two young boys.
Hinckley, Utah
Archival Pigment Print
Christine Armbruster
James Greenhalgh, 73. Raised, lived, and retired in Elberta.
Elberta, Utah
Archival Pigment Print
Christine Armbruster
Office of a nation-wide fishing supplier.
Mona, Utah
Archival Pigment Print
Christine Armbruster
Storeroom of Wholesale Fishing Supply, Inc.
Mona, Utah
Archival Pigment Print
Christine Armbruster
Three men out for coffee.
Eureka, Utah
Archival Pigment Print
Christine Armbruster
Phil Green in his home with a painting made of his buffalo.
Goshen, Utah
Archival Pigment Print
Christine Armbruster