EMPIRE
By Carol Hamoy
Martin Hyers + William Mebane
[New York]: 2010, Hyers and Mebane. Edition of 100.
5 x 6.25"; 102 leaves. Printed on Ilford Galerie Gold Fiber Silk paper. 100 photographic inkjet prints; photo index; title card signed by authors. Housed in handmade cloth-covered clamshell box with the title embossed on the top.
William Mebane: "From 2004 - 2007 Martin Hyers and William Mebane made a series of road trips through the American South and West to create an archive of American objects. The project, titled EMPIRE, yielded more than 9000 4 x 5 in. photographs from twenty-one states. These images represent meaningful objects in American culture.
"EMPIRE wades into the rich, American photographic tradition of the road trip. Drawing inspiration from Joel Sternfeld's American Prospects, and Stephen Shore's American Surfaces, we ventured out into public places, met strangers, and accompanied them back to their homes, offices and factories to photograph. To the generous people who granted us access and shared their time with us, we explained that we were collecting photographs of objects for a time capsule.
"In the most basic sense, objects are the physical manifestations of a series of discrete choices — budget, taste, necessity, whim. The pictures in this edit, taken in the aggregate, speak to our view of the values and means of American society."
Will Mebane is a New York based photographer whose work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, and New York Magazine. Martin Hyers is a New York based photographer whose work has appeared in Travel & Leisure, Family Life, and Martha Stewart Living. Mebane and Hyers have been collaborating on photographic projects since 2003.
$750 |
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