The Mohawk River: Albany to Utica NY

In late December, 2019 shot 120 photos out an Amtrak train window with my iPhone. These were made on my return trip from NYC to Utica N.Y. —my hometown. The Mohawk River, named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy has always been of interest to me. Taking this train trip, back and forth to NYC from Utica started for me when I was in high school. Going to NYC was all about seeing art. I could not then, or now, get enough of that. I believe that the landscapes of our youth imprint on us a certain deep remembering and longing. I was certainly aware of this, as I made these photos.

“ In a love letter to a very different landscape, Rose Marasco’s stop-motion video of a train ride from New York City to Utica traces another line across a map—a well-worn and personally significant journey. We all have these routes, short or long. Traveled during formative times, they cut deep grooves in our memories. Following the Mohawk River between Albany and Utica, this 37-second video captures, even in its short runtime, the gray of a December day, riverbanks dotted with snow, the trees dark and bare. Somehow, in fleeting images, Marasco captures the impatient feeling of nearing home, a feeling that exists even when you’re far removed in physical space and years. “

Quote originally from: Transmissions Across a Flattened Sphere by Sarah Hotchkiss. Published on August 24, 2020.