In 1989 Michael Galinsky set out driving across the country from Long Island, to North Dakota, and Washington State beyond. His mission? Documenting the malls of America as he went. His series is a time capsule from a transitioning country, where downtown districts continued to lose popularity and the “big box” malls became social and consumer hubs. Here teens roam with matching mullets, the elderly enjoy cigarettes inside, and ‘stonewash’ jeans had elastic at the bottom.
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After Galinsky had completed his road trip, he did one show and packed all his slides into a box. They’ve remained there until recently when he pulled them out and shared a few with friends.
“I have always thought that images gain much more meaning with time. Looking at the mall slides it’s clear that their time has come. Last fall, I took them out, borrowed a scanner and loaded in about 160 of the stronger images. I posted a few on facebook and they got a great response. I started to work on putting together a book.”
You can see many more of the images on Galinsky’s Facebook, or in his recently published book, Malls Across America.
via Its Nice That
