111 Degrees, Facing West
Artist
David Emitt Adams
(American, born 1980)
Date2014
Mediumwet plate collodion tintype made on metal can found in the Sonoran Desert
Dimensions10.2 × 16.5 × 22.9 cm (4 × 6 1/2 × 9 in.)
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineFunded by the Douglas Cox and Edward Osowski Fund for Photography
Object number2018.49
Label TextA tintype is a unique positive image that is developed on a thin sheet of metal coated with a photosensitive emulsion. They were most popular in the decades during and after the American Civil War (1861–65) and were typically used for keepsake portrait photography. Here, Adams subverts expectations by employing this historical medium for a contemporary photograph of the Sonoran Desert in the American Southwest, using a rusted metal gas can he found there as the support.
In reclaiming both abandoned trash and an antiquated process, Adams reveals contradictory attitudes about the environment. On the one hand, many still perceive the American West as an untouched wilderness, a narrative that began with government-sponsored photography expeditions in the 19th century and ignored indigenous stewardship. Simultaneously, blasé attitudes towards resource extraction, improper land and water use, and waste disposal have allowed the degradation of many fragile ecosystems.ProvenanceSold by Photo-Eye Gallery, New Mexico, who represent the artist.On View
Not on view
Patrick Henry Reason
19th century
