Hey guys, take a minute and check out this USA Projects site by photographer Joshua Dudley Greer for his new project Point Pleasant. For the past three years, he has been making photographs in a remote landscape that was formerly the home of the West Virginia Ordnance Works.In the early 1980’s, EPA and state investigations of this area revealed that the groundwater, soil and surface water were heavily contaminated with explosive nitroaromatic compounds including TNT, trinitrobenzene, and dinitrotoluene, as well as arsenic, lead, beryllium and asbestos. The site was placed on the EPA’s National Priorities List in 1983 and extensive cleanup efforts began in 1991. While a portion of the original facility has been remediated, many of the toxic and explosive contaminants were simply buried on site.
Using an 8x10 view camera, he is photographing the ruins of a once monumental military-industrial complex as it tangles with the surrounding landscape of forest, fields and swamp. TNT storage igloos are depicted in a serial typology to convey the massive scale of military weapons production, while the emptiness of the landscape, photographed with a muted palette and diffused light, is meant to evoke a kind of post-apocalyptic environment - one that is at times bleak and somber, yet also strangely resilient and beautiful.
This is where you come in. He is trying to raise $7000 to print and frame a large-scale exhibition of his work, and he needs your help to make it happen.
Oh and I’m a recent graduate/part time job person as well, so I hear you on the not wanting to spend money thing, but I’ve found that donating even just $5 to help someone achieve their artistic dream/goal is wildly satisfying. Trust me on this one. Good art karma is an important thing to have.
