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Taryn Simon

An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar

September 13–October 25, 2008
Beverly Hills

Taryn Simon, Nuclear Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility, Cherenkov Radiation; Hanford Site, U.S. Department of Energy, Southeastern Washington State, 2005–07, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007 Chromogenic color print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, Nuclear Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility, Cherenkov Radiation; Hanford Site, U.S. Department of Energy, Southeastern Washington State, 2005–07, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007

Chromogenic color print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP
© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, Cryopreservation Unit, Cryonics Institute, Clinton Township, Michigan, 2004–07, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007 Chromogenic print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, Cryopreservation Unit, Cryonics Institute, Clinton Township, Michigan, 2004–07, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007

Chromogenic print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP
© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, Playboy, Braille Edition, Playboy Enterprises, Inc. New York, New York, 2006–07, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007 Chromogenic print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, Playboy, Braille Edition, Playboy Enterprises, Inc. New York, New York, 2006–07, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007

Chromogenic print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP
© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, Fireworks by Grucci, Northern Test Site, Corporate Headquarters, Brookhaven, New York, 2006–07, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007 Chromogenic print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, Fireworks by Grucci, Northern Test Site, Corporate Headquarters, Brookhaven, New York, 2006–07, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007

Chromogenic print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP
© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum Revolver Frame, Smith & Wesson Headquarters, Springfield, Massachusetts, 2004–07, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007 Chromogenic print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum Revolver Frame, Smith & Wesson Headquarters, Springfield, Massachusetts, 2004–07, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007

Chromogenic print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP
© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, White Tiger (Kenny), Selective Inbreeding, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge and Foundation, Eureka Springs, Arkansas, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007 Chromogenic print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, White Tiger (Kenny), Selective Inbreeding, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge and Foundation, Eureka Springs, Arkansas, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007

Chromogenic print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP
© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, Hibernating Black Bear and Cubs, Bear Den, Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia, 2005–07, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007 Chromogenic print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, Hibernating Black Bear and Cubs, Bear Den, Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia, 2005–07, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007

Chromogenic print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP
© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, Alhurra TV, Broadcast Studio, Springfield, Virginia, 2006–07, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007 Chromogenic print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, Alhurra TV, Broadcast Studio, Springfield, Virginia, 2006–07, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007

Chromogenic print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP
© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, Avian Quarantine Facility, The New York Animal Import Center, Newburgh, New York, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007 Chromogenic print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, Avian Quarantine Facility, The New York Animal Import Center, Newburgh, New York, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007

Chromogenic print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP
© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, Research Marijuana Crop Grow Room, National Center for Natural Products Research, Oxford, Mississippi, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007 Chromogenic print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, Research Marijuana Crop Grow Room, National Center for Natural Products Research, Oxford, Mississippi, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007

Chromogenic print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP
© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Contraband Room, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Queens, New York, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007 Chromogenic print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Contraband Room, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Queens, New York, from the series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007

Chromogenic print, framed: 37 ¼ × 44 ½ inches (94.6 × 113 cm), edition of 7 + 2 AP
© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon, A Rejection, 2006/07 Silkscreened text on metal plate, 26 ¼ × 18 ¼ inches (66.7 × 46.4 cm), edition of 7

Taryn Simon, A Rejection, 2006/07

Silkscreened text on metal plate, 26 ¼ × 18 ¼ inches (66.7 × 46.4 cm), edition of 7

About

What is not known, rarely seen, possesses a form of occult glamour, and it is that black beauty which [Simon] so brightly, and brilliantly, reveals.
—Salman Rushdie

Gagosian Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition by Taryn Simon. This will be the first viewing of her series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar in Los Angeles.

In this body of work spanning over four years, Taryn Simon confronts the obstacles facing public access to expert knowledge by offering entry, via photography to a selection of restricted or rarely discovered sites across the United States. The resulting series is an exposé of the unseen realities beneath the surface of modern American culture. Simon documents subjects from a wide span of cultural sub-headings, including nature, science, government, and religion. Her photographs range from eccentric to haunting, from a copy of Playboy written in Braille to a portrait of a cancer ridden patient fighting for the right to end his life. She uses a large-format view camera when conditions permit, and each of her compositions is accompanied by a text explaining subject and context. The addition of word to image underscores Simon’s dual role as voyeur and informant. An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar reveals that for every visible facet of American culture there is an obscured recess equally fundamental to the framework of a national identity.

News

Taryn Simon: An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar (3rd ed. Ostfildern, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2013)

Online Reading

Salman Rushdie
Foreword to “An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar”

Democracy needs visibility, accountability, light. It is in the unseen darkness that unsavoury things huddle and grow.
—Salman Rushdie

Salman Rushdie discusses Taryn Simon’s An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, which depicts objects, sites, and spaces that are integral to America’s foundation, mythology, and daily operations but that remain inaccessible or unknown. His text is available for online reading from June 23 through August 31 as part of Artist Spotlight: Taryn Simon.

Taryn Simon: An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar (3rd ed. Ostfildern, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2013)