Since 1996, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta has been hiring photographers with a very basic assignment, completely open to interpretation: Picture the South. It's a clever way for the museum to both build its collection and encourage artists to find inspiration in the region. And the results vary widely.
"It would be really hard to hang all these projects side by side," says Brett Abbott, curator of photography at the museum.
Except — that's exactly what they're doing. An exhibit that opened June 9 features work by the three most recently commissioned photographers: Shane Lavalette, Kael Alford and Martin Parr.
1 of 11
— Will with Banjo, 2011
Will with Banjo, 2011
/ Shane Lavalette
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— Spit in the Swamp, 2010
Spit in the Swamp, 2010
/ Shane Lavalette
3 of 11
— Kaylen Swinging, 2010
Kaylen Swinging, 2010
/ Shane Lavalette
4 of 11
— Tommy's Bed, 2010
Tommy's Bed, 2010
/ Shane Lavalette
5 of 11
— Ground Zero, 2010
Ground Zero, 2010
/ Shane Lavalette
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— Birds in Flight, 2010
Birds in Flight, 2010
/ Shane Lavalette
7 of 11
— Bill on his Porch, 2010
Bill on his Porch, 2010
/ Shane Lavalette
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— Athens Morning, 2011
Athens Morning, 2011
/ Shane Lavalette
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— America Street, 2011
America Street, 2011
/ Shane Lavalette
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— Po' Monkey on his 70th Birthday, 2010
Po' Monkey on his 70th Birthday, 2010
/ Shane Lavalette
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— Spirit Bottles, 2011
Spirit Bottles, 2011
/ Shane Lavalette
Past commissions by the High Museum include Sally Mann, Alex Webb, Emmet Gowin and Richard Misrach, all pretty big names — with pretty big differences.
"That's what's fun about it," says Abbott, who has been with the museum a bit over a year. "Each perspective on the South is going to be subjective, and it's going to be entirely different from the next. A Southerner's perspective is going to be different from a ... British citizen's perspective. And it's the sum of all these perspectives that becomes very interesting."
These three photographers are a case in point:
, 25, was born and raised in the Northeast and, Abbott says, takes a more "lyrical approach" to the region. He traveled to several states, exploring the legacy of Southern music traditions.
Photojournalist Kael Alford had already been documenting the American Indian enclaves of Iles de Jean Charles and Pointe-aux-Chenes in Louisiana. As the museum puts it:
"Alford has evocatively recorded the landscape and its native inhabitants who tenaciously persevere in their way of life on ancestral ground that is sinking into the Gulf of Mexico at an alarming rate. Severely damaged by gas and oil extraction and battered by storms, the marshlands are in a tenuous state."
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— Walter Dardar Jr., with His Father's House after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, 2008
Walter Dardar Jr., with His Father's House after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, 2008
Kael Alford / High Museum of Art
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— Edison Dardar's Shrimp with Bycatch, Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, 2010
Edison Dardar's Shrimp with Bycatch, Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, 2010
Kael Alford / High Museum of Art
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— House on Eroding Land, Leeville, Louisiana, 2007
House on Eroding Land, Leeville, Louisiana, 2007
Kael Alford / High Museum of Art
4 of 11
— Jacob Walker's Tattoo, Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, 2008
Jacob Walker's Tattoo, Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, 2008
Kael Alford / High Museum of Art
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— Kierstin Guidry with Hilton Chaisson's Boat, Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, 2010
Kierstin Guidry with Hilton Chaisson's Boat, Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, 2010
Kael Alford / High Museum of Art
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— Pastors above the Flood Line, Live Oak Baptist Church, Pointe-aux-Chenes, Louisiana, 2008
Pastors above the Flood Line, Live Oak Baptist Church, Pointe-aux-Chenes, Louisiana, 2008
Kael Alford / High Museum of Art
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— Stranded Indian Land with Oil Boom, after the British Petroleum Oil Spill, South of Point-aux-Chenes, Louisiana, 2010
Stranded Indian Land with Oil Boom, after the British Petroleum Oil Spill, South of Point-aux-Chenes, Louisiana, 2010
Kael Alford / High Museum of Art
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— The Entrance to Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, 2009
The Entrance to Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, 2009
Kael Alford / High Museum of Art
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— Twins, Point-aux-Chenes, Louisiana, 2010
Twins, Point-aux-Chenes, Louisiana, 2010
Kael Alford / High Museum of Art
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— View from (the Late) Virgil Dardar's Porch, Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, 2008
View from (the Late) Virgil Dardar's Porch, Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, 2008
Kael Alford / High Museum of Art
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— Wall inside Jake Billiot's Front Door, Point-aux-Chenes, Louisiana, 2010
Wall inside Jake Billiot's Front Door, Point-aux-Chenes, Louisiana, 2010
Kael Alford / High Museum of Art
And Martin Parr, on the other end of the stylistic spectrum, is a renowned British documentary photographer known for garish color and exaggerated perspective. His website says as much.
"The three that were selected for this round are special because they are so different from each other," says Abbott.
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— The Georgia National Fair, 2010
The Georgia National Fair, 2010
Martin Parr/Magnum / Courtesy of The High Museum
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— Harold's BBQ restaurant, 2011
Harold's BBQ restaurant, 2011
Martin Parr/Magnum / Courtesy of The High Museum
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— A pawn shop, 2010
A pawn shop, 2010
Martin Parr/Magnum / Courtesy of The High Museum
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— Staff at The Silver Skillet restaurant, 2011
Staff at The Silver Skillet restaurant, 2011
Martin Parr/Magnum / Courtesy of The High Museum
Indeed, a corn dog glistening with ketchup couldn't be more different from an eroding coastline. But maybe there's something there, some inexplicable Southern magic — that ties them together. Or maybe it's just geography.
How would you picture the South?
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