An American Index Of The Hidden And Unfamiliar

An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar

In An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, Taryn Simon documents spaces that are integral to America's foundation, mythology and daily functioning, but remain inaccessible or unknown to a public audience. She has photographed rarely seen sites from domains including: science, government, medicine, entertainment, nature security and religion. This index examines subjects that, while provocative or controversial, are currently legal. The work responds to a desire to discover unknown territories, to see everything. Simon makes use of the annotated-photograph's capacity to engage and inform the public. Transforming that which is off-limits or under-the-radar into a visible and intelligible form, she confronts the divide between the privileged access of the few and the limited access of the public. Photographed with a large format view camera (except when prohibited), Simon's 70 color plates form a seductive collection that reflects and reveals a national identity. In addition to this monograph, there is also an exhibition of Simon's work opening at the Whitney Museum of American Art in March 2007.From the PublisherFrom LIFE Magazine:Few Signs are as bewitching as a posted warning to KEEP OUT. Photographer Taryn Simon's book, An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, sneaks viewers past the stone-faced security guards and inside a Mission: Impossible-worthy list of 60 locations--from CIA headquarters to an avian-quarantine facility to a fully armed nuclear sub. Doors open to rooms holding secrets we never expected to see: contraband seized by U.S. customs agents; a pod holding cryonically preserved bodies; a federally funded crop of marijuana plants.