Kutztown High School and Kutztown University alum Justin Teurk embarked on a seven-week summer road trip, following in the footsteps of Jack Kerouac’s famous journey from the novel “On the Road” as part of his master’s thesis.
Now, as he continues work on his thesis at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, 27-year-old Teurk is compiling a book that photographically documents his trip across America.
“I shot it all in black and white film,” said Teurk. “The book will be published and released as just one part of my thesis, and my guess is that it will have anywhere between 80 and 100 of the photos I shot on the trip.”
In June and July, Teurk traveled from New York to San Francisco, down to Los Angeles and back across the country, capturing scenes along the way that stood out to him.
“I wanted to capture both the physical and socioeconomic landscapes,” said Tuerk. “The idea is to show how these landscapes have evolved since Jack Kerouac took his trip so many years ago.”
Before taking his trip, Teurk had never seen the country. He wanted to base his experience off one of the great road trip novels.
“In a lot of my art work, I tend to make references or connections to historical events and literary references,” said Teurk.
After some thought, Teurk narrowed it down to Kerouac’s “On the Road.”
“Kerouac was in his late 20s like I am,” said Teurk. “He was also experiencing everything for the first time, like myself.”
Teurk took his trip alone, which he says was a test of his character.
“I learned a lot about myself because I didn’t have a crutch to fall back on or a friend,” said Teurk. “If I wanted human interaction or to engage in conversation, I had to find it for myself. I had to talk to the people who lived in these places, and that was good because I learned more about where I was. It gave me a better point of view for my work.”
Teurk’s trip had a start date and an end date, but no set schedule. He kept a bedroll in the car, where he slept most nights, only staying in motels when necessary. Having never traveled across the country, Teurk’s eyes were opened to new truths.
“Media references often don’t do a good job of truly portraying what certain places are like,” said Teurk. “I got to discover what is truth and what is spun to benefit whoever’s telling it. Socioeconomic wise, traveling in the middle of the country was terribly depressing. In Davenport, I passed more vacant storefronts downtown than I did people, yet I saw what looked like a million dollar or more construction of a sports complex. It was depressing that they would choose that rather than restore the history. I have a draw toward history, and what I have found is far too few places put an emphasis on preserving it.”
Teurk’s photography aims to capture these socioeconomic challenges and make a statement about the current state of our country. While his trip was made for purpose of completing a degree, Teurk took away a life-changing experience of his own.
“I did meet great people,” he said. “There were pockets of places around the country that are doing great things. It’s sad that they are just pockets though. A lot of places that didn’t have a draw for money are kind of left to the wayside. Some places looked like they didn’t change since what Kerouac described. On the other hand, an amazing natural phenomenon that I absolutely loved about the country is how quickly the climate and natural scenery change. I got to stand on St. Mary’s Glacier in the 70-degree weather, which was crazy.”
Teurk’s trip was funded with the help of donations through a site called Go Fund Me. He kept a blog and posted photos as he made his journey, so his friends and family could follow along.
“There were good moments and bad moments,” said Teurk. “I was definitely glad when I got home.”
Now, Teurk is continuing his thesis, working for his master’s in fine arts. Along with publishing and releasing his book of photography, Teurk is working on recording and releasing musical performances, as well as other sound art related materials.
Teurk has his bachelor’s of science and arts from Kutztown University, where he focused on printmaking and digital media from 2005 to 2010.
“After completing my master’s, I would enjoy continuing what I’m doing in my thesis, which is helping to produce sound-related things and books,” said Teurk. “Also, there is the more sensible option, which would be teaching.”
To find out more about Justin Teurk’s work, visit www.jepater.com.
