Taryn Simon
Taryn Simon is a very interesting women who was born and raised in New York. A photographer by trade who documents amazing things around the world via her lens. In her stride she captures the essence of a generation documenting stories by photographing the descendants of people at the center of the narrative. She is continuously going on the hunt for America’s dirty secrets, with her camera in hand.
Gaining entrance to places as diverse as a white tiger breeding facility, the JFK Airport quarantine area, abortion clinics and virus-research labs, Simon shows the things that are integral to America’s foundation, mythology and daily functioning, but remain inaccessible or unknown to a public audience. These powerful images stretch beyond mere documentation. Shinning with radiant light, unsettling atmosphere and sinister implications, they pulse with artistic mystery and draw the viewer in
One of her more known works, titled The Innocents, opened at P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center in New York a few years ago, documenting cases of wrongful conviction in the United States and investigates photography’s role in that process. This particular body of work highlighted a deeply hidden part of the American justice system and led to many changes for the rights of prisoners.
There are many museums around the world which permanently hold work by Taryn they include: The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Tate Modern; Whitney Museum of American Art; Centre Pompidou; Museum Fur Moderne Kunst; and Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art.
Check out this video below from Taryn on TED talking about photographic work, and how she investigates where she investigates the nature of genealogy and the way our lives are shaped by the interplay of many different forces.
