As we read on the website dedicated to the film documenting the work on the series, Herwig tells more about what initially sparked his interest in taking on this project: “Wondering why they existed was one of the driving forces that had me fascinated with the bus stops (...) It was totally unexpected. Every time you’d see one you’d wonder, ‘What was the plan here?’ Or, ‘What was the purpose?’”
Bored Panda reached out to Christopher Herwig to find out more about his photo series “Soviet Bus Stops”. We wanted to know if, during all the years of shooting for the documentary, there were any particular bus stops or regions that left a lasting impression on the photographer. Herwig shared with us: “So much of it was amazing because it was a brilliant road trip. Armenia stands out for its stunning landscapes. Georgia and Ukraine in the snow were also a joy to explore and a magical experience at the time.”
Throughout his journey, Christopher mentioned encountering suspicion and accusations of being a spy (read our previous post). We were wondering how Herwig navigated these situations, and if they influenced the way he approached his photography and documentation. We found out that: “There were many instances where local people questioned why I was stopping and photographing the bus stops. To them, they were nothing new and special and often neglected and run down. They feared I was photographing them to make their community look bad. I would try and explain that they were something unique and special. To me, they showed creativity and were beautiful. Sometimes I would show them the other pictures on my camera to give them the context of the project. Sometimes I would convince them my intentions were genuine but not always. The odd person did accuse me of being a spy but that was just a ridiculous joke to me or, in one case, a scam by a taxi driver to extort money from me. As the project went on, my belief that the bus stops were beautiful and should be photographed grew and so it did not influence me so much what others thought as I knew I did not mean disrespect with my work.”
We know that some of the bus stops' creators were tracked down during Herwig’s documentary work. On the “Soviet Bus Stops” website we can find a couple of firsthand relations from people involved in designing some of the stops. One of these creative minds was Konstantinas Jakovlevas-Mateckis, who from 1968 to 1986 was the Head of the Environmental Architecture section of the Institute of Technical Aesthetics in Vilnius, Lithuania. The bus stops were one of the projects Konstantinas worked on. As we read on the website: “Speaking about the minor architecture, there weren’t any regulations or rules, everything was based on the architects‘ knowledge and ideas, which were implemented.”
“The uniqueness of a bus stop was also based on regional differences between different republics. Belarus had its own solutions, we Lithuanians had others and some Caucasian republics were also different.”
Over the years, many of these bus stops have been demolished or disregarded. We were interested in how this affects the photographer’s mission to memorialize them through his work. Christopher Herwig told us: “The fact that they are disappearing made me want to work harder to find as many of them as I could. The urgency made it not only more effective but a bit exciting when I would find them; however, the reality of them being destroyed and driving thousands of kilometers to find them gone was frustrating.”
Lastly, we asked what efforts are being made to preserve the legacy of these unique architectural pieces, and we learned that: “In some places, a few of the exceptional ones are being saved by people who see their value, like in Georgia, but otherwise very little to my knowledge is being done to save most of them.”
We encourage you to visit the website featuring more information about this interesting series, as well as the Instagram page, where Herwig shares more details about particular bus stops he captured.
