Pine Tree Line - Kathy Toth

The Pine Tree Line was a series of radar stations located in Southern Canada and the Northern United States located around the 50th parallel north operated by NORAD. It was the first system developed to detect Soviet bomber attacks, but as with all things related to the cold war, the technology turned obsolete rather quickly and the Pine Tree Line was kept online until SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground Environment) was brought online.

The Pine Tree Line used ‘pulsed mode’ radar which wasn’t awfully accurate and could only provide last minute warnings and these stations predated the more modern Doppler radar stations implemented in the North, the Mid-Canada line and the DEW line. Some of the stations were kept operational until the 1970′s and 80′s, however they found adaptive reuse by the military and some are still around today.

Hidden cultures, social and economic change and the seemingly banal are all themes that dominate Kathy’s work. She treats her photographic subject matter as a form of social commentary about the changes she sees around her and the marginalization she sees of art, communities and the changing face of industry and communities today.  

Two of her most extensive photography projects document the changes and evolution in Toronto’s graffiti and street art culture since 1994, and the changing face of communities with the general de-industrialization of our manufacturing sector since 2004.

Photos © Kathy Toth

Website: www.ktoth.com