WALLY AND AMANDA KAVAL’S PROJECT STARTS FROM AN INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT CAPTURING LOCATIONS REMINISCENT OF SCENES FROM WES ANDERSON MOVIES AND HAS EVOLVED INTO A PHOTO BOOK DOCUMENTING THOSE PLACES’ STUNNING AMBIANCE AND HISTORY
TEXT: KANTIDA BUSABA
PHOTO: KETSIREE WONGWAN
(For Thai, press here)
Accidentally Wes Anderson
Wally Koval
Voracious, 2020
Hardcover
7.6 x 1.45 x 9.3 inches
368 pages
ISBN 978-031-649-273-7
When exploring the impact of art on viewers, the more intriguing answer, beyond quantifying its value with numbers, lies in observing how people interpret a work of art after emotionally experiencing it. Specifically, it raises questions about the manner in which interpretations are reflected and their subsequent impact on community members sharing similar interests. ‘Accidentally Wes Anderson’ stands out as a compelling case study in this regard. Before evolving into a globally translated and distributed publication, the project originated with a married couple who shared a mutual love for the director’s artistic creations. Over time, it has grown into a platform for individuals to connect and share their interests, forming a vibrant community.
Wally and Amanda Kovel, the visionaries behind Accidentally Wes Anderson, not only developed a deep appreciation for Wes Anderson’s films but also cultivated a passion for travel. They reveled in discovering places that elicited specific emotions and memories reminiscent of the cinematic images in the films they adored. The couple began accumulating these locations with the aspiration of eventually visiting them. Utilizing online platforms, particularly Instagram, they documented the dream destinations they wished to visit. However, the @accidentallywesanderson account transcended being a mere personal record; it evolved into a space where Wally and Amanda collaborated with a community of travel enthusiasts, photographers, architecture aficionados, and people who appreciate beautiful things shared on online platforms.
The account transformed into a central hub for exchanging information and sharing Wes Anderson-style photographs. The diverse array of images flooding into this account showcased a myriad of interests. Wally and Amanda’s subsequent objective was to solidify the exchanges transpiring within the community in a way that online platforms could not facilitate. Thus, the concept of a ‘printed’ format emerged.
Given the extensive exchange of photographs, it became inevitable for Wally and Amanda to devise a method for the storytelling to transition onto paper. A crucial and formidable step in this process was the selection of images from a vast collection numbering in the tens of thousands. Through a meticulous application of criteria, the images were carefully chosen to ensure that the content presented in the book remained within manageable proportions. Consequently, the printed version of Accidentally Wes Anderson materialized into a hardcover book, spanning 368 pages and boasting full-color printing. The book’s layout, artfully crafted by Mia Johnson, earned recognition in the same year of its publication as one of the winners of the 50 Books | 50 Covers award from TIGA.
The Wes Anderson style, familiar to many through his films, is interpreted through the selected images, accompanied by succinct historical details about the featured locations. Specifics such as construction dates, ownership, and the current state of these places offer insights into the evolution of their uses. The content is thoughtfully organized geographically, commencing in the United States, Canada, and Latin America, then progressing through Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, South Asia, Central Asia, and culminating in Antarctica.
If one attempts to categorize the elements present in the photographs, it becomes evident that Wes Anderson’s style is interpreted and analyzed through various components. These encompass expansive landscape views that evoke a sense of vastness, as well as architectural works, specifically hotels or churches situated in landscapes surrounded by nature. The scenes vary from recreational spots like swimming pools and bowling alleys to everyday places like gas stations and quirky storefronts with distinct fonts, or train stations with a lingering sense of longing and anticipation to the quiet interiors of train carriages with working staff.
It is intriguing that, for some, these components may evoke reminiscent images associated with Wes Anderson’s films. On one hand, it might be argued that this seems coincidental, but upon closer inspection, it becomes evident that the series of photographs in this volume intentionally play with the viewer’s understanding, memories, and experiences with Wes Anderson’s work. The repetition of similar compositional elements in various images makes it easy for imagination to take flight. Whenever the term ‘Wes Anderson-style’ is mentioned, it is inevitable to have sets of repeated images accompanying it. Yet, beyond this visual familiarity lies a deeper realization: in the process of grasping a piece of art, what can we discover, and through which possible perspectives can they be told?
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