Photo Credit: Ben Nixon

Artist

Ben Nixon (Primary)

Title

Creek Near Saluda from the Southern Comfort series

Date

2010 (printed 2012)

Century

21st century

Medium & Support

Gelatin silver print on paper

Edition

2/5

Dimensions

Image: 35 3/8 x 43 1/8 in.

Object Type

Photographs

Credit Line

Museum purchase with funds provided by the Nat C. Myers Photography Fund

Accession Number

2014.36.91

Copyright

In Copyright
© Ben Nixon

Inspired by mid-century photographic modernism and experimental processes, Nixon in his Southern Comfort series employs the 19th-century method of developing glass plate negatives in the field using the wet-plate collodion process. Grand in scale, Creek Near Saluda draws attention to details that harken back to the storied histories of the South as well as present a current consciousness of the region as it continues to change. Within a scene of invasive foliage taking over the landscape, gestural marks cross the photograph to suggest movement of ghostlike wisps. The implied presence of the photographer anchors the viewer in a specific yet unsettling locale. Subtle variations of serendipitous visual irregularities add both a sense of creation and degeneration to this hauntingly beautiful landscape.

Exhibition Title: Asheville Art Museum: An Introduction to the Collection
Label Date: 2021
Type: Object Entry
Written by: Lola Clarimont