an american index of the hidden and unfamiliar

I look for something that is going to be seductive.
...
First and foremost it has to be seductive.

Photographer Taryn Simon speaking with Charlie Rose about her work.

Smith shoots strongly intentional shots in 4x5 format. And her idea of seductive may not be your idea of seductive.

Simon has a show at the Whitney called An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar in which she "documents spaces that are integral to America's foundation, mythology and daily functioning, but remain inaccessible or unknown to a public audience."

Simon also had a show at MoCP in 2005 called The Innocents in which she photographed individuals who served time after being wrongfully convicted. Some of the work from that show is available on Artnet. This one intrigues me particularly, because wrongful imprisonment is my strongest ambient anxiety -- one which I suspect says more about the country I live in than the fears that live in my heart.

Here's a link to the Hidden and Unfamiliar book »

I've managed to misplace the link to the book spread -- will update as soon as I can google it down (I hate it when that happens -- when a search query morphs over night and you can't find the thing you were sure you left in plain sight...).