Taryn Simon, The Color of a Flea’s Eye: The Picture Collection
Only available in English
Taryn Simon’s The Picture Collection showcases her photographs and materials sourced from the New York Public Library’s (NYPL) image archive, exquisitely presented as mounted and tipped-in plates.
The NYPL’s archive holds an astonishing 1.2 million photographs, posters, and prints. Simon’s project highlights an ongoing relationship between Cahiers d’Art and the NYPL, as the nearly century-old Picture Collection includes materials originally sourced from the Revue dating back to the 1920s. This collaboration culminates in Simon’s book, which offers an alternative history of photography.
Simon meticulously re-sorted the library’s archive, extracting images from various categories to expose the subjective and often arbitrary ways humans organize visual material. She photographed, with a forensic precision, over 200 documents and pieces of correspondence detailing the operations, dramas, and inner workings of the NYPL’s image archive.
This publication not only delves into Simon’s exploration of the historic archive but also offers a fresh perspective on some of the 20th century’s greatest artists. Simon responds to previously unseen archival material, photographs, and correspondence from figures such as Diego Rivera, Lewis Hine, Paul Strand, and Walker Evans.
Only available in English
Taryn Simon’s The Picture Collection showcases her photographs and materials sourced from the New York Public Library’s (NYPL) image archive, exquisitely presented as mounted and tipped-in plates.
The NYPL’s archive holds an astonishing 1.2 million photographs, posters, and prints. Simon’s project highlights an ongoing relationship between Cahiers d’Art and the NYPL, as the nearly century-old Picture Collection includes materials originally sourced from the Revue dating back to the 1920s. This collaboration culminates in Simon’s book, which offers an alternative history of photography.
Simon meticulously re-sorted the library’s archive, extracting images from various categories to expose the subjective and often arbitrary ways humans organize visual material. She photographed, with a forensic precision, over 200 documents and pieces of correspondence detailing the operations, dramas, and inner workings of the NYPL’s image archive.
This publication not only delves into Simon’s exploration of the historic archive but also offers a fresh perspective on some of the 20th century’s greatest artists. Simon responds to previously unseen archival material, photographs, and correspondence from figures such as Diego Rivera, Lewis Hine, Paul Strand, and Walker Evans.
Only available in English
Taryn Simon’s The Picture Collection showcases her photographs and materials sourced from the New York Public Library’s (NYPL) image archive, exquisitely presented as mounted and tipped-in plates.
The NYPL’s archive holds an astonishing 1.2 million photographs, posters, and prints. Simon’s project highlights an ongoing relationship between Cahiers d’Art and the NYPL, as the nearly century-old Picture Collection includes materials originally sourced from the Revue dating back to the 1920s. This collaboration culminates in Simon’s book, which offers an alternative history of photography.
Simon meticulously re-sorted the library’s archive, extracting images from various categories to expose the subjective and often arbitrary ways humans organize visual material. She photographed, with a forensic precision, over 200 documents and pieces of correspondence detailing the operations, dramas, and inner workings of the NYPL’s image archive.
This publication not only delves into Simon’s exploration of the historic archive but also offers a fresh perspective on some of the 20th century’s greatest artists. Simon responds to previously unseen archival material, photographs, and correspondence from figures such as Diego Rivera, Lewis Hine, Paul Strand, and Walker Evans.
By: Taryn Simon
With an essay by: Tim Griffin
404 pages
245 illustrations
58 color plates
Hardcover, cardboard box
33.6 × 25.4 cm
English
ISBN: 978-2-85117-103-0
