In March 2013, shortly before Marc was about to take a hiatus from Los Angeles after living there for 7 years, the idea of documenting America’s Liquor Stores emerged.
Not only did he have a peculiar fondness for the sheer look of Liquor Stores it but was also baffled by the amount of them in my area, and the diverse range of people that would go there – whether it was for the occasion of celebrating or drowning their sorrows in alcohol – young and old people, from all ethnical and social backgrounds.
Marc came to the conclusion that he wanted to do Series about Liquor Stores around the country while talking to owners, customers, and locals alike. It would give him the broadest spectrum and deepest insights about all the colors, cultures, and personalities of people that convey the ‘The American Dream’ – or give one an idea to maybe look at it from a different point of view.
The journey started in January 2014 in Los Angeles, California. It would take him to the East Coast and back West – 30,000km through 38 States in approximately 100 days – returning with over a hundred Liquor Stores and countless portraits shot, and leaving him with a broader vision about what and who makes this country the land of dreams, whether they may be intact or broken..
Marc Gruninger is a swiss born Photographer who moved to California in 2006 to pursue a career in Visual Arts. An early focus was doing promotional shoots for bands, which led to collaborations with some legendary names such as Snoop Dogg, The Church, and members of The Cure. Later on he also gained interested in doing Still Photography on Production sets as well as Yoga Festivals.
