FACADES
By Christopher Stagl
In the eighties, I was lucky enough to grow up in a small town, Ocala, Florida, which was nestled in between nowhere and Disney World. As you can imagine, there were not a ton of creative outlets but the ones that were there I tried to leverage: high school newspaper and yearbook are the ones that made the biggest impact. My parents were very good about making sure we always had computers in the house. I’m pretty sure our family single-handedly kept RadioShack in business for a dozen years or so - which looking back I attribute to my early learning of art and design. My brother, during his rebellious years, had a few choice graphic novels that I remember stealing from his bookshelf because of the artwork being so amazing – thinking back about how awesome Gaiman and Giger were (and still are). Friends had every opportunity to make fun of the kid in the neighborhood that was equally interested in photography and typography as much as they were in basketball and WWF but Dave and Allan were pretty forgiving of all my faults. The fall of 2020 presented new opportunities as I was fortunate enough to join the faculty of Alabama’s leading international college, Troy University. Even from interview recall, I clearly remember the expectations of the position being focused on three things: teaching, service, and cultivating international education experiences for students and faculty. The photographs in this book are a simple idea that represents the latter. After a three-year pandemic-created travel hold, I was very lucky to be chosen by our Chair of Art & Design, Greg Skaggs, to join him on a two-week teaching abroad trip to the Changzhou Institute of Technology in China, a location Greg had visited in 2019 and formed student and faculty exchange relations with. The title, “Facades” defines the images selected in the two styles of photography presented, architectural and street. I remember the first time I heard the word, facades, my dad – a contractor of many years – used it to describe the face of a
hotel's construction project he worked on years earlier. For some reason, it always struck a chord with me as such an interesting way to give, literally, anything a face. When capturing these images, I thought about the word facade a lot, but the title didn’t reveal itself to me until many weeks later during the editing process. As consumers of art and story, I believe it’s important to understand visually what we’re looking at but equally as important is the employment our imagination is charged with to piece together the story through what is presented. Not unlike visiting a foreign land where you don’t speak the language. The street images selected are of the fine people of Changzhou, China, and the architecture of Campuses of C.I.T., each presenting their own facades for your interpretation. Through the documenting process, I continue to learn about the importance of being patient when finding an interesting visual narrative. During editing, I am reminded to trust the creative process as a whole and to not be afraid to edit myself. And during the layout and making, I often think back to my mom, asking me to simply make her something pretty that she can frame and hang. Seems basic but it speaks very much to the importance of presentation, and even to this book’s facade. Whether through the visual documentation of the people of Changzhou, China, or the manicured bricks of a college campus, we all have a facade that we present outward. This book is dedicated to my beautiful bride, Stacey, who afforded me the opportunity to travel, literally, around the globe to take these photographs. I love you. And, my boss, Greg, for the encouragement to join him on this crazy adventure - I kept saying no - and he kept ensuring me it was not optional.
Enjoy The Creative, -Chris
A D V E N T U R E
MEMORIES
All creative works in this book were created by and belong to Chris Stagl. Special thanks to Troy University, Dr. Jack & Janice Hawkins, Dr. Sohail Agboatwala, Dr. William Thrasher, Silvia & Joe Li, the Design faculty of Changzhou Institute of Technology, Sigma Photo, the awesome people of Changzhou, China, and Greg Skaggs. Copyright 2023