penelope umbrico . . .

Visit this artist's web site here to learn more about her unique typology subjects.

julia ziegler-haynes

Artist Re-creates Death-Row Inmates' Final Meals

Ever wonder what'd you choose for your last meal on earth? While that might have been the subject of some childhood banter, it's a real-life question. And Death Row inmates have a long, long time to ponder. Intrigued by the question, Brooklyn-based artist and chef Julia Ziegler-Haynes decided to re-create a series of asked-for meals chosen by Death Row prisoners in a series of understated yet unsettling snaps for her book Today's Special. Ziegler-Haynes was aesthetically inspired by food styling from the '70s, cheap restaurants, and cafeteria-quality fare. She sifted through hundreds of public records (information leading up to inmates' executions is posted online, too), found 24 compelling subjects, and re-created their last requests. The shots, depicted from the diner's vantage point, range from a black olive (a symbol of peace) to birthday cake and pizza. Without forgiving these convicts of their actions, Ziegler-Haynes begs us to take a a closer look at their psyches while providing an inside glimpse at the conflicting gesture of the last meal. "It's eerie to cook for someone who's dead, not to mention someone who's been put to death for killing another person," says Ziegler-Haynes. "I'm by no means excusing the deplorable acts that it took to land these men on Death Row—I'm merely taking a closer look at the human condition."

By: Kristian Laliberte & Christina Lomeli

kodachrome ends. . .

The town of Parsons, Kansas, is — for the moment — the worldwide epicenter of color film photography. That is where Dwayne’s Photo, a small family business, is processing the last rolls of Kodachrome. A. G. Sulzberger is there and has filed this report. Eastman Kodak stopped making the film in 2009 and gave the last roll to Steve McCurry. He shot the last three frames of that roll in Parsons before handing it in to Dwayne’s. They are displayed below.

Frame 36

The last frame of the last roll of Kodachrome made by Eastman Kodak and given to Steve McCurry. He used it to shoot a cemetery in Parsons, Kansas, where Dwayne's Photo was processing the final batches of Kodachrome.

Frame 35

Frame 34

james casebere . . .

James Casebere is showing new photographs of constructed architectural models of houses. The work references his impressions of an area he happened upon during a road trip to upstate New York. Click here to see and read more about this artist's photographic illusions . . .

Installation view of James Casebere: House, Sean Kelly Gallery, 2010

James Casebere, Landscape with Houses (Dutchess County, NY) #8, 2010

James Casebere, Landscape with Houses (Dutchess County, NY) #1, 2009

James Casebere, Landscape with Houses (Dutchess County, NY) #7, 2010

James Casebere, Landscape with Houses (Dutchess County, NY) #2, 2009

cameraless photography . . .

Click here to link to a video from the Victoria and Albert Museum in which Adam Fuss talks about his interest in making photograms such as you see here.

fabrication / illusion / deception . . .

Take a look at the exhibition "The City" by Lori Nix now on view at ClampArt. Then visit her website to see more of her fascinating photographs and read an interview in which she describes her process.

Lori Nix, Museum of Art 2005

Lori Nix, Laundromat 2008

Lori Nix, Vacuum Showroom 2006

Lori Nix, Majestic 2006

award-winning documentary photography . . .

Visit this website to view some wonderful contemporary documentary photography. Spend some time here reading about the Prix Pictet and looking at and reading about the work of these artists, some of whom we have seen in class this semester.

Taryn Simon, Nuclear Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility, Cherenkov Radiation, Hanford Site, U.S. Department of Energy, Southeastern Washington State Submerged in a pool of water at Hanford Site are 1,936 stainless-steel nuclear-waste capsules containing cesium and strontium. Combined, they contain over 120 million curies of radioactivity. It is estimated to be the most curies under one roof in the United States. The blue glow is created by the Cherenkov Effect which describes the electromagnetic radiation emitted when a charged particle, giving off energy, moves faster than light through a transparent medium. The temperatures of the capsules are as high as 330 degrees Fahrenheit. The pool of water serves as a shield against radiation; a human standing one foot from an unshielded capsule would receive a lethal dose of radiation in less than 10 seconds. Hanford is among the most contaminated sites in the United States. (from series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar 2005/2007)

Yeondoo Jung, Evergreen Tower 2001

Mitch Epstein, Gavin Coal Power Plant, Cheshire, Ohio 2003