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Product Description
Product Description
Taryn Simon lived in John F Kennedy International Airport from November 16 through November 20, 2009. JFK processes more international passengers than any other airport in the United States. Contraband includes photographs taken 24 hours a day of over 1000 items detained or seized from passengers and express mail entering the U.S. from abroad. Over five days, in both the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Federal Inspection Site and the U.S. Postal Service International Mail Facility, Simon documented items including counterfeit American Express travelers checks, overproof Jamaican rum, heroin, a dead hawk, an illegal Mexican passport, deer penis, purses made from endangered species, Cuban cigars, counterfeit Disney DVDs, khat, gold dust, GHB concealed as house cleaner, cow manure tooth powder, counterfeit Louis Vuitton bags, prohibited sausage, undeclared jewelry, steroids and an ostrich egg. This catalog presents an edited version, selected by the artist, from the more than 1000 items she recorded. Taryn Simon was born in New York in 1975. Her recent work, An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, opened at The Whitney Museum of American Art, revealing that which is integral to Americas foundation, mythology and daily functioning, but remains inaccessible or unknown to a public audience. Her earlier work, The Innocents, opened at P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, documenting cases of wrongful conviction in the United States and investigates photographys role in that process. She is a graduate of Brown University and a Guggenheim Fellow. Permanent collections 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. Co-published with Gagosian Gallery, New York.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
An interesting continuation for Taryn Simon, far less imediate then her other work. But perhaps also better suited for a book?
The book's form perfectly descripes it content and enhances it. The cheap dustjacket and the yellow pages of the (huge) appendix all play a part in the work.
The pictures do at first look flat and represented in grids, but reading/looking through the book its contet starts to unfold.
The objects range from drug smuglging to the more personal and the grid from makes a good job of presenting the wonders that are one display.
The massive amount of information in the book presents an intersting look at both travel and our socity.
Recommneded.
The book's form perfectly descripes it content and enhances it. The cheap dustjacket and the yellow pages of the (huge) appendix all play a part in the work.
The pictures do at first look flat and represented in grids, but reading/looking through the book its contet starts to unfold.
The objects range from drug smuglging to the more personal and the grid from makes a good job of presenting the wonders that are one display.
The massive amount of information in the book presents an intersting look at both travel and our socity.
Recommneded.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Great photos and fascinating concept, but the binding and print quality of the book leaves to be desired.
8 Jan 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have enjoyed the work of Taryn Simon before and I was excited to receive this book in the mail today. I have already seen a few fascinating photos of this project online, so as I took the book out of the shipping box, I did not put it down until I got the last page, and I am fairly certain I will pick it up again before the end of the evening today. The artistic concept is simple yet intriguing [I was temped to say elegant, but the photos of animal carcasses immediately came to mind], and in no way I regret purchasing the book and supporting such an inspiring photographer as Ms. Simon.
As for the layout, all of the 1,075 photographs are separated methodically. Initially I expected a haphazard placement of the prints, but the organized approach is quite refreshing. The photographs are of various size from six to a page to a full page print with vivid colors on a white background.
Nonetheless, I was somewhat disappointed in the quality of the publication itself. First of all, the book is not a hardcover edition as it is advertised, it is purely a paperback with a thick and a non-glossy dust jacket. I even had to go back and look at my order to make sure I ordered a hardcover edition. The dust jacket is made of soft porous papers that is easily imprinted with finger smudges. Fortunately, the photographs themselves are printed on a good quality paper. The binding itself looks very delicate and fragile, and I am doubtful the book will be able to withstand the coffee table existence I have planned for it. Finally, page 245 has a paper defect with an inch long wrinkle in the top right hand corner, and although it does not interfere with any photographs, it definitely catches the eye and takes away from the aesthetic value of the book.
Overall: 3 stars. 5 for the concept and photography and 2 for the quality of the edition. My recommendation for Ms. Simon is to find a new publisher for the next project.
As for the layout, all of the 1,075 photographs are separated methodically. Initially I expected a haphazard placement of the prints, but the organized approach is quite refreshing. The photographs are of various size from six to a page to a full page print with vivid colors on a white background.
Nonetheless, I was somewhat disappointed in the quality of the publication itself. First of all, the book is not a hardcover edition as it is advertised, it is purely a paperback with a thick and a non-glossy dust jacket. I even had to go back and look at my order to make sure I ordered a hardcover edition. The dust jacket is made of soft porous papers that is easily imprinted with finger smudges. Fortunately, the photographs themselves are printed on a good quality paper. The binding itself looks very delicate and fragile, and I am doubtful the book will be able to withstand the coffee table existence I have planned for it. Finally, page 245 has a paper defect with an inch long wrinkle in the top right hand corner, and although it does not interfere with any photographs, it definitely catches the eye and takes away from the aesthetic value of the book.
Overall: 3 stars. 5 for the concept and photography and 2 for the quality of the edition. My recommendation for Ms. Simon is to find a new publisher for the next project.
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