"Union Made" A Photography Exhibit

Hi, I'm Nick Roberts, I'm a professional fine art photographer living in Louisville, Kentucky.

I am also a 68 year old, retired, United Autoworker, a member of  UAW Local 862,  and a strong advocate for the value of organized labor and the many contributions to society that organized labor has provided such as the 40 hour week, job safety, fair wages, fair treatment of workers and respect for the value of hard work.

I attended college after work and earned my Bachelor of Fine Art Degree , from the University of Louisville, while working full time building trucks at Ford Motor Company and attending classes after work.  

I have been photographing the Ohio River Bridges Project for the past three years as it progressed from the earliest stages through the completion of the Abraham Lincoln Bridge, John F Kennedy Bridge renovation, the East End Bridge, the I-265 tunnel under a historic property in east Louisville, and the attendant infrastructure connecting all of it to Louisville's Interstate Highways I-65, I-64, I-71 and I-265.

In July of 2013 I approached Walsh Construction and asked for permission to document the Ohio River Bridges Project which was the the largest civil engineering project in North America at that time. The Ohio River Bridges Project encompassed the building of a new downtown bridge across the Ohio River, the renovation of the existing John F Kennedy bridge, the construction of a second Ohio River bridge several miles east of the city, complete renovation of the interchange connecting three major Interstate highways in Louisville as well as completing a massive tunnel east of the city connecting  I-265 to the east end bridge. 

After undergoing extensive safety instruction about the hazards of this type of construction I was granted complete access to all areas and phases of the project. As a result I have taken in excess of 300,000 photos of the construction, and more importantly, the women and men who labored six and seven days a week for three years to build the bridges and build or rebuild the over 200 additional small bridges and overpasses that connect them to downtown Louisville and east Louisville. 


My initial goal was to create a visual record of the transformation of Louisville's infrastructure and the changes wrought by this project. Once I began shooting I realized that the greater story lay in showing the women and men of the union construction trades as they built the new bridges and infrastucture.


I have always been fascinated by the photos from the early twentieth century that show the people who built America's skyscrapers, dams and bridges but there was always a question in my mind about who those people were. I determined early on that my overarching theme for "Union Made" would be to record today's laborers and to use the power of the internet to record their names and their photos so that future historians could know who they were using the search capabilities that the internet makes possible. I don't want the men and women who performed this feat of construction to be anonymous entities; I want to make sure that they are as much a part of the history of the Ohio River Bridges Project as possible. 


Just this past week I was presented with the opportunity to exhibit, for the first time, a select group of these images in a newly completed gallery located in the reception area of Unique Imaging Concepts, the printing company I use for all my photos. Working with Dan and Troy we have settled on using aluminum substrates from Universal Woods  which allow me to acheive the look I want with an archival quality of durability.


 Unique Imaging Concepts is a local dye-sublimation printing company that began in a small building in the Germantown section of Louisville. From the hard work of Dan Rutledge, his son Troy and their dedicated staff Unique Imaging Concepts has grown and relocated to a much larger facility in Distillery Commons. This past year they added additional space to their growing business and decided to incorporate a gallery to show the work of the many artists who have helped them grow. They have seen how hard it is for individual artists to find affordable exhibit space and decided to make their gallery available to their creative customers. 

I am initiating this campaign to fund the printing and exhibiting of a large number of the photos I have made of the Ohio River Bridges Project over the past three years in an exhibit titled "Union Made". I am also working on a large compnanion book that will show the process and the people in greater detail than is possible with just a few of my many photos in a gallery setting.

Due to rapidly approaching time constaints I need your help as soon as possible so that we can begin printing the photos and organize the advertising and cover the other necessary expenses to mount the "Union Made" exhibit. The Ohio River Bridges Project construction is nearing completion and I want to have the  "Union Made" show ready by late November so that as many of the people in the photosas possible can attend "Union Made" before the project is completed and they have moved on to their next jobs Building America.


I want "Union Made" to be a testament to the craftmanship and professionalism of the dedicated women and men of the union construction trades, Carpenters, Ironworkers, Operators and Laborers, who showed up day in and day out through freezing cold and blistering heat to build the Ohio River Bridges Project.


Too often we drive through a construction site and fail to realize how skilled the people doing the work are. We grouse about the traffic delays and how slow it seems to progress yet if we were able to see it from the inside we would see how hard the work is and how dedicated the workers are. Every tradesman or tradeswoman I have met and talked with over the course of this project is proud of the job they do and takes great pride in doing it well and as efficiently as possible.


I sincerely hope that my photos reveal the humanity of the people who build our infrastructure and that everyone who sees my work will look with respect at the accomplishments of my union brothers and sisters who built the Ohio River Bridges Project. Your contribution to "Union Made" will make my comittment to this photo project, and most importantly the women and men in my photos, worth so much to me personally and will always be a source of immense gratitude from me. 

If I have convinced you of the worth of "Union Made". Please contribute whatever amount you think appropriate and help me bring it to completion.

Thank you,
Nick Roberts
Speeddemon2 Photography