Image: AMY ELKINS (American, born 1979), from the “The Golden State” Project
Carnegie Art Museum’s Studio Gallery
June 7th to July 29th, 2018
http://www.carnegieam.org/cam-studio-gallery
The Golden State examines California’s death row, the largest death row population in the United States (currently at 746). The body of work was created using state provided information and mugshots for the entire 746 predominantly male death row inmates, organized and compiled by last names with each layer treated identically over a golden colored canvas. The more densely populated, the less of the original golden color remains. The resulting composite portraits confront the undeniable racial makeup of California’s death row (where 66.75% are minorities*) as well as the inevitable loss of identity created by mass incarceration. This is a small selection of the twenty-six pieces that were created.
What the Critics are saying about Amy Elkins:
“As viewers, we are invited to puzzle over an assortment of clues, including reenactments, exhibits submitted for our considerations, partial evidence, and statements both leading and misleading. The work is elegiac and provocative, asking the viewer to engage above and beyond a simple, cursory viewing of these images.” – Leslie A. Martin, Aperture Foundation
“The degree of isolation her subjects experience is extreme. Of the prisoners that she has written to over the past several years, most have spent over a decade in a solitary 6 x 9 cell. Letters speak of a life where the memories of loss are equaled only by the seemingly endless time before them, unless their sentence is carried out. Elkins lost one of her pen pals in 2009 and another in 2012, whose final appeal was denied by the Supreme Court mere months before his execution. Much like the author Truman Capote’s complex experience in losing the primary source of his artwork when Perry Smith was executed while writing In Cold Blood, Elkins likely cannot help but be affected by the unique dynamic of these relationships to her subjects. Her work seems to reflect her own loss in the mix of theirs.” – Bill Sullivan, American photographer and painter
“Photographer Amy Elkins offers an unflinching contemplation of capital punishment and identity in a culture of mass incarceration.” – Mass Appeal
“Elkins ponders the psychological impact incarceration has on inmates, using blurry and pixelated photos to imagine how life on the inside shapes and distorts an inmates’ perception of reality and awareness.” – WIRED Magazine
“Rather than a documentary angle, Elkins has chosen artifacts and scenes that reveal both the preponderance of time on death row (enough time to become a poet, learn calligraphy, read voraciously) and it’s corrosive qualities as it ineffably moves these prisoners toward the end. It’s a tough project, but one that reveals Elkins’ profound sensitivity to the shades of gray in this potentially black-and-white issue.” – Arts and Culture, TX
“Elkins’ imagery of the darkness in the lives and deaths of these men may be morose, but optimism is intrinsic to her determination to see the world from their perspective.” – Artillery Magazine
Check out her Exclusive Online Exhibition on ARTSY for more more images and information on this award-winning Series of works at:
https://www.artsy.net/mark-moore-gallery/shows
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