West South West by Matthew Conboy
The photographs from West South West document the mean centers of population that are plotted at the conclusion of every US Census by the United States Census Bureau. These locations have progressively moved in a west-southwesterly direction from Kent County, Maryland in 1790 to Texas County, Missouri in 2010. The consistent westerly shift of these population centers over the past 220 years evokes the power of the American Dream and the willingness of both citizens and immigrants alike to stake their lives, fortunes, and futures on opportunities located in Western and Border States. I visited each center of population which is represented by one image or diptych and included screenshots from my iPhone showing the map views of the 1790 and 2010 Centers.
Matthew Conboy lives and works in Pittsburgh, PA.
To view more of Conboy’s work, please visit his website or follow West South West on Tumblr.
You can purchase "WSW, 1880 (Boone County, KY)" from Fraction Editions
iPhone Screenshot, 26 July 2013
WSW, 1790 (Kent County, MD)
WSW, 1800 (Howard County, MD)
WSW, 1810 (Loudoun County, VA)
WSW, 1820 (Hardy County, WV)
WSW, 1830 (Grant County, WV)
WSW, 1840 (Upshur County, WV)
WSW, 1850 (Wirt County, WV)
WSW, 1860 (Pike County, OH)
WSW, 1870 (Highland County, OH)
WSW, 1880 (Boone County, KY)
WSW, 1890 (Decatur County, IN) and WSW 1900 (Bartholomew County, IN)
WSW, 1910 (Monroe County, IN)
WSW, 1920 (Owen County, IN)
WSW, 1930 (Greene County, IN) and WSW, 1940 (Sullivan County, IN)
WSW, 1950 (Richland County, IL) Original Center
WSW, 1950 (Clay County, IL) Current Center
WSW, 1960 (Clinton County, IL) and WSW, 1970 (St. Clair County, IL)
WSW, 1980 (Jefferson County, MO)
WSW, 1990 (Crawford County, MO)
WSW, 2000 (Phelps County, MO)
WSW, 2010 (Texas County, MO)
iPhone Screenshot, 7 August 2013