Читать книгу Graphic USA - Ziggy Hanaor - Страница 7

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA BY LAURA FERACOAlaska was a very late addition to the United States, and still maintains a degree of isolation from the lower 48. It is a wild and extreme place, and its main city, Anchorage, is no exception. Built on a strip of coastal lowland and surrounded by six mountain ranges, Anchorage is the largest city north of Helsinki, St Petersburg, Oslo, and Stockholm. Although the proximity to the sea helps moderate the climate, temperatures in winter can often hit 5°F, and occasionally are as low as -30˚F.Just like the subarctic weather, the design world in Anchorage can be harsh and unforgiving, and only the resilient can survive. It’s easy to get lost in the kitsch tourist-trap bars and T-shirt shops and the relentless resource development, but there is plenty of inspiration to be found if you look beyond all this. Firstly, the light in Anchorage is truly unique. In winter everything is tinged with a ghostly blue, and in summer the midnight alpenglow has a way of illuminating things in unexpected ways. Secondly – and more importantly – the natural surroundings of the city are nothing short of spectacular, and this in itself has a way of clearing one’s mind – opening a path for fresh ideas and new approaches. At any given moment, you can see the mountain ranges of Chugach, Kenai, Talkeetna, Tordrillo, Aleutian, and Alaska from almost anywhere in Anchorage. I’ve never been anywhere else that offers such inspiring and humbling views. It takes only a ten-minute drive outside of the city to find wilderness so extreme that you can get lost and not be found until next summer. As a result of these qualities, Anchorage has become something of an outdoor enthusiast’s playground – the frontier spirit that attracted many to these remote climes in bygone days is very much alive, and an emerging creative subculture has started to bubble underneath the mainstream. The Native American presence, though much diminished (Native Americans account for a mere five per cent of the population these days), still lingers, keeping a watchful eye over the city. Anchorage is ultimately a haphazard collection of unique discoveries and pockets of brilliance, surrounded by a wilderness that demands respect and metes severe punishment to those who lack it. I have come to worship my puffy goose-down coat. For people in the lower 48 it’s a fashion statement – for me it’s a survival tool. 7 Anchorage, AK