INDECENT PROPOSAL
BUTTE, MONTANA – 2020
The discussion between Daniela Braga and her passenger looks to have taken a bad turn in this photograph that was part of our American road-trip series. It was taken in the deep winter, high above the old mining town of Butte, Montana. The viewer is fully in charge of assigning the storyline, but Daniela’s look of shock suggests that the wolf has made an indecent proposal. As Diane Arbus famously said, “A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know.”
Daniela is one of my favourite muses. She is always on time, always glamorous, and, best of all, she always has high energy. Daniela recently got married and by the time this book is out, she will have had a baby. We wish her and her husband Adam all the best for the future and look forward to working together again soon.
Butte’s population has collapsed since its glory years in mining, when it was one of the biggest producers of copper in America, but it remains a regional hub in western Montana and still boasts a commercial airport, as can be seen in the background of the photograph. That airport gave us the chance to spend time on the Butte story. Without it, the logistics of everyone flying in and out would have been too burdensome. As it was, we had a productive few days in this most quirky of ghost towns. There are so many indoor and outdoor locations here that offer a storyline – it’s like a microcosm of Detroit 10 years ago.
DAVID YARROW
