OFZ steelworks in Istevne, Slovakia.
Image courtesy of Victor Macha
Viktor Maha's day job is in real estate, but his true passion is his “Beauty of Steel Project,” which sees him photograph every single steel mill he can get to. To date, he has taken over 2,400 photographs of over 500 blast furnaces, steel mills, foundries, forges and rolling mills in 28 countries on five continents.
“It was a religious experience.”
It was a personal experience from his childhood that set him on this path. At the age of 14, his parents took him on a trip to the mountains of eastern Czech Republic, passing through the legendary steel town of Trinec on the way. “They wanted to show me the big industry there,” says Maha. “There were blast furnaces, steel mills, everything, they wanted to show me where metal is made. They tried to scare me and tell me that going to the steel mill was not the right path. They wanted me to have a better future. I got out of the car and saw the sixth blast furnace across the river. It was a religious experience. I was literally standing in front of an unknown god, who spoke to me in a language I had never heard before, but I understood. At that moment I knew this was something I had to be a part of.”
A year or two later, he noticed that Czech blast furnaces and steel mills were beginning to close, and like countless other factories around the world, things were beginning to change around him. That's when Maha started taking photos, in 2008, and he discovered his natural talent. “I've never read a single book on photography,” he explains. “I've never been to a workshop.” But his work speaks directly to those closest to the business. “He's a good photographer,” says Steve Jadowsiak, senior business development executive at Trinity Products, a steel sheet, pipe and coil manufacturer based in O'Fallon, Missouri. “I think he's a good portrait artist.”
Victor Maha.
Image courtesy of Victor Macha
Macha soon focused on photographing every single steel mill in the world. Many of the plants he photographed closed shortly after he visited. “Sixteen years later, the steel industry has changed dramatically,” he said.
He's almost entirely self-funded, paying for his own travel, equipment, and time. To cover expenses, he's published and sold an annual “Beauty of Steel” calendar for the past few years, as well as selling his own prints and photographs. “I'm not looking to make a ton of money from this project,” he explains, “but it's never been about the money.”
Aside from the cost, getting permission from companies to take photos on their factory premises is a challenge. “The biggest challenge is getting permission and convincing the companies that I'm not here to steal their technology and sell it to China,” Macha said.
Cleveland-Cliffs' fully integrated steel plant in Burn Harbor, Indiana;
Image courtesy of Victor Macha
As the Beauty of Steel project has become better known throughout the industry, his access has improved slightly. But at the same time, as companies adopt new technologies to become more environmentally friendly, Macha can become hesitant to participate. This project offers a lot of benefits to the steel industry, so it would be a shame to be hesitant to participate.
Benefits for the steel industry
Industrial art itself
Anna Frounfelker, inside sales and social media marketing director at Ferrosource, a global steel sourcing and distribution company, believes Macha's work is of immeasurable value: “His work is important because he captures the raw beauty of the steelmaking process.”
“The scale of what he's showing is enormous,” said Pittsburgh painter and sculptor Corey Bonnett, curator of the “Patterns of Meaning” exhibition, which focuses on the steel industry. “We should be celebrating these achievements while also working toward cleaner, more sustainable ways of doing things.”
Coke ovens at the ArcelorMittal plant in Dunkirk, France.
Image courtesy of Victor Macha
A festival of craftsmanship
For Macha, celebrating the work of steelmakers is an essential part of his job. He believes it's time for people in the steel industry to stop making excuses for their business and take pride in what the industry has done for the world in the past and today. “You are the people who built our civilization,” he says. “Take pride in what you do, because without steel there would be no civilization.”
Frounfelker agrees. “I think the industry should be celebrated,” she says. “He reminds me of Norman Rockwell. He shows us that we live in a blue-collar world, and it's the people that make it possible.”
Human Resource Development
It's often said that manufacturers are their own worst enemies when it comes to advertising the importance of what they do. Many manufacturers don't allow any visitors in, for fear of revealing important trade secrets, even though most manufacturers use commercially available processes. But keeping people out is a negative impact on the business and denies potential future workers an understanding of what manufacturing is really like.
Tuyere of a blast furnace at the ArcelorMittal plant in Monlevade, Brazil.
Image courtesy of Victor Macha
“I'm here to document their factories and make it part of the project, part of the legacy for future generations,” Macha said. “All they see is the factories making grey clouds on the horizon. If they could jump the fence, go through the gates and see all that magic and technology, it would dramatically change society's perspective.”
“He brings a lot of people together,” Jadwisiak said. “I learn a lot from him and I think a lot of people do too.”
“He's bringing awareness of this industry to the general public,” Frounfelker added. “No one leaves home without having touched steel. Steel is the lifeblood of our industrial economy. If we want to survive, the next generation has to be aware of what we're doing.”
“We need to know and remember how things were done in the past and preserve that knowledge,” Bonnet said. “That's how we inspire people to build for the future.”
Nizhny Tagil Steel Works, Russia.
Image courtesy of Victor Macha
Looking to the future
“Our culture has told us that the only people who are really creative are artists, programmers and service workers,” says Raymond Monroe, vice president of the American Steel Founders Association, which works to grow the U.S. steel foundry industry. “But they've misunderstood and thought that engineering and manufacturing people are stuck in a dead-end, uncreative, impersonal environment. But if you're in it, you know that the most creative people are manufacturing people, because they have to be creative every day.” One of the biggest challenges in the industry today is effectively communicating that reality to young people.
With that in mind, today Macha is even more passionate about bringing his work to younger generations: “I've been lecturing to primary school children about the importance of the steel and mining industry using my drawings. You can see the look on their faces – they are so excited and amazed by the importance of the steel industry.”
“It's truly magical, there's no other way to describe it. It's like fireworks going off multiple times every day. It's incredible. I wish more people could see this.”
Zaporizhia Stal rolling mill in Zaporizhia, Ukraine.
Image courtesy of Victor Macha
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