PHRC | Photographic History Research Centre at De Montfort University
On the third Thursday of every month, we proudly host the Photographic History Research Centre (PHRC) Takeover—a day when academics and students from the Centre (based here at DMU) share their expertise and insights on our remarkable photographic collections.
As March is women’s history month and the 8th was International Women’s Day, for this installment we’re thrilled to feature Professor Kelley Wilder, Director of the PHRC, as she explores a small collection focused on the project of a former DMU Head of Department and alumna, Iona Cruickshank.
If you happened to be driving though the outskirts of Carlyle, Saskatchewan one morning in August 2004, you might have seen a small white-haired woman perched on the top deck of a landlocked houseboat with her 4x5 camera on a tripod. Iona Cruickshank, photographer and Head of the Department of Communication and Imaging Design at DMU, might have been talking to Ray, the owner of the Prairie Dog Drive-in movie theatre, as she set up to take several shots of the giant screen, the parking spaces and the access road.
Above: The Prairie Dog Drive-in by day and night, 2001 (Ref codes: 2001/001/3 & 4/SK and 2001/002/1/SK).
In honour of both International Women’s Day (just past) and Prof. Emeritus Steve Chibnall’srecent exhibition The Art School Dance Goes on Forever, showcasing the Leicester School of Art (now DMU) alumni (highlighted in Special Colls blog post last month, 3 Grand Exhibition), this month’s blog takes in the collection from Iona Cruickshank’s photo project ‘Capturing the Fading Light’. Iona graduated with an MA from Leicester School of Art in the 1960s.
Luminaries of the mid-sixties Photography Department. Roger Bamber. Iona Cruickshank (who went on to become Head of the Department), Peter Robinson and Chris Morphet (Image and caption from The Art School Dance Goes on Forever).
Iona was my first Head of School when I arrived at DMU in 2008. When she retired , she donated documentation, proof sheets and a large number of prints from this years-long project to document the last remaining Drive-ins across Canada. You can read more about the collection and explore a basic box list on the Special Collections catalogue: P/013 Papers of Iona Cruickshank.
A mini display of the collection showcasing the range of materials which include, the final projet, book photographs, maps, funding administration, press cuttings and drive-in ephemera.
Drive-ins hold a certain fascination, as a sub-set of North American car culture, as a symbol of a particular sort of modernity, and perhaps for their incongruous geography, tied to semi-rural spaces, used at night and largely in summer.
Above: Clearwater Drive-in, Saskatchewan. (Ref code: 2004/005//17/SK).
Their large screens have attracted many photographers, perhaps most famously Hiroshi Sugimoto in the early 1990s. By 2001, drive-ins were on the decline in Canada, and Iona began seeking them out, getting permission and photographing all that she could find. In 2006 she counted less than 60 operational drive-ins, but her photographs took in the derelict ones as well.
Derelict drive-in on the Ontario border (Ref code: 2009/081/6/ON).
Her intention was not just to photograph the screens, but to evoke the memories of places like The Gemini Drive-in, of family outings, hot summer nights, and teenage adventures.
A menu for the Gemini Drive-in, Alberta.
From British Columbia to Nova Scotia, Iona sought out these last remaining drive-ins, sometimes finding that the screen had been pulled down, sometimes discovering new drive-ins had opened.
Her informants were locals at diners, gas station attendants, farmers and local librarians. You can read excerpts from her daybooks in the printed material, browse ephemera and perhaps even trace her route from her collection of maps.
Contents page from Cruishank's project book and a flyer for the Prarie Dog Drive-in.
Above: Cruickshank map of Canada with minor annotations.
That day in Carlyle at the Prairie Dog Drive-in, two men emerged out of the haybales nearby and walked off. The night before had, after all, been a late night at the movies. Cars raised dust on the dirt road. Iona climbed down from the houseboat, packed her bag, and headed East towards Flin Flon, Manitoba.
Above: Drive-in, Ontario (Ref code: 2009/082/10/ON).
An extract from Cruickshank's project book.
Thank you, Kelley, for another fascinating focus on the world of photographic history. Cruiskshank’s images are wonderful to look through: the abandoned drive-ins and wide landscapes reminiscent of a post-apocalyptic movie scene themselves. If you would like to view any of the items in our collections, please visit our website to book an appointment. Don’t miss next month’s PHRC Blog Takeover.
Link summary
Catalogue: P/013 Papers of Iona Cruickshank
Social Gallery Exhibition Page: The Art School Dance Goes on Forever
DMU News ‘Art School Dance Goes on Forever’
Special Collection Blog 3 Grand Exhibition
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