Ford Coupe, Hall Farm near Riverside Observatory, Johnson County, Iowa, U.S.A. (R16), from Ryoichi Excavations
Patrick Nagatani, American, 1945 - 2017
negative 1992; print 2001
Toned gelatin silver print
12/30
Image: 6 × 7 15/16 in. (15.2 × 20.1 cm)
Sheet: 7 15/16 × 9 7/8 in. (20.2 × 25.1 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Jamie amd Haim Handwerker
PH.2004.79.5
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
20th century
Object Name
Photograph
Research Area
Photograph
Not on view
Inscriptions
Inscribed and signed, at bottom, underneath image, from left to right, in black ink: FORD COUPE, HALL FARM NEAR RIVERSIDE OBSERVATORY, JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA, U.S.A. 1992 / 2001 R16/+[small graphic] PATRICK NAGATANI; inscribed, at bottom, center, in black ink: 12/30
Label
In the series Nagatani/Ryoichi Excavations, photographer Patrick Nagatani explores the role of photography in both documenting and creating history through the “scientific” examination of the landscape. Documenting the excavations of fictitious Japanese archaeologist Ryoichi—a character played by Nagatani—the artist presents a temporal paradox through the existence of an “automobile culture” at disparate archaeological sites and time periods throughout the world. Although the archaeological team covered up all evidence of their digs, the photographic record seen here, as well as maps and site plans, remain, challenging our understanding of evidence and our approach to studying the unknown.
Nagatani writes: "This project expresses my interest in testing the realities that can exist within the realm of photography and physical documentation. I am interested in how the photograph is also recognized less as a window on the “real,” and far more as a malleable picture space—constructed and contrived for the purpose of examining representation rather than reality. I am interested in the potential of photography to tell a story. "
From the 2022 exhibition This Land: American Engagement with the Natural World, curated by Jami C. Powell, Curator of Indigenous Art; Barbara J. MacAdam, former Jonathan L. Cohen Curator of American Art; Thomas H. Price, former Curatorial Assistant; Morgan E. Freeman, former DAMLI Native American Art Fellow; and Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art
Course History
ANTH 7.05, Animals and Humans, Laura Ogden, Winter 2022
GEOG 31.01, Postcolonial Geographies, Erin Collins, Winter 2022
ANTH 50.05, Environmental Archaeology, Madeleine McLeester, Winter 2022
ANTH 50.05, Environmental Archaeology, Madeleine McLeester, Winter 2022
ARTH 5.01, Introduction to Contemporary Art, Mary Coffey and Chad Elias, Winter 2022
ANTH 3.01, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Chelsey Kivland, Summer 2022
ANTH 3.01, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Chelsey Kivland, Summer 2022
SPAN 65.15, Wonderstruck: Archives and the Production of Knowledge in an Unequal World, Silvia Spitta and Barbara Goebel, Summer 2022
Exhibition History
This Land: American Engagement with the Natural World, Owen Robertson Cheatham Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, April 20- July 24, 2022.
Provenance
Jamie and Haim Handwerker, New York, New York; given to present collection, 2004.
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