WASHOUT. A&M Building, Big Springs, Nebraska. Exhibition. 2025.
In summer 2025, M12 Studio opened an exhibit that brought together two distinct elements: a nearly 100-year-old photograph documenting a washed-out road near Big Springs, Nebraska, and one of the earliest and most influential Western films, The Great Train Robbery (1903).
The exhibition centered on a 1935 photograph by Curtis Peacock that captures the aftermath of a major washout near Big Springs—one of many such events that shaped life and infrastructure along the Platte River in the early twentieth century. Known for its wide, shallow channels and shifting sandbars, the Platte River frequently overflowed or changed course during periods of high water, damaging roads, rail lines, and farmland. Produced as part of Depression-era documentation efforts, the photograph reflects both the volatility of the landscape and the challenges faced by rural communities navigating environmental uncertainty and economic instability. These recurring washouts underscored the need for sustained investment in infrastructure and flood control across the Great Plains.
