Jay Gould
Sunday, 9 August 2009
Work from Rocket Science
“Drive a good hour outside of nearly every American metropolitan area on a sunny Saturday morning and you may see chutes of smoke lingering in the sky. Follow those trails a bit further and you will find Rocket Science. This photographic project documents some of the humble communities of model rocket builders who contribute to the traditional American spirit of exploration and ingenuity. These tight-knit groups are populated by a variety of explorers, many of whom are taking their first steps into hand-on science. These less experienced members are guided by an entire community, in which many members have dedicated their lives and even careers to aerospace, but still find a very basic rush of excitement in this challenging hobby. They depend on one another to share experience, enthusiasm, and the responsibility of keeping this hobby alive while increasing federal government regulations threaten its existence. Using my large-format camera and a camcorder, I travel through these small groups as well as various space museums. During these journeys I document on film and video what may be either a small-scale boom marking the next generation of space exploration, or the last launches of this threatened hobby.” – Jay Gould