About this artwork
In 1975 Richard Misrach first took his camera into the desert of the American West. Working at night, he used long exposure times and a strobe flash to produce eerie images of the desolate, uninhabited landscape. He experimented with the printing process, making split-toned prints that heighten the blacks and whites while imparting a coppery glow to the background. In the desert, Misrach has said, “the severity of the landscape sets cultural artifacts off in dramatic relief … it epitomizes the extremes of the human condition.” This project paved the way for his well-known, still-ongoing series on the environmental and cultural implications of the American West, Desert Cantos.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Photography and Media
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Artist
- Richard Misrach
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Title
- Untitled, from the series "Split Toned Night Desert"
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Place
- United States (Object made in)
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Date
- Made 1975
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Medium
- Gelatin silver print
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Inscriptions
- Unmarked recto; inscribed and signed verso, upper left, in graphite: © Richard Misrach 1975 ; inscribed verso, upper right, in graphite: plate 33; verso, lower left, sideways, in graphite: STNIGHT-IONED-2 ; verso, lower right, in graphite: RM.2810.
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Dimensions
- Image: 35.5 × 35.4 cm (14 × 13 15/16 in.); Paper: 50.4 × 40.6 cm (19 7/8 × 16 in.)
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Credit Line
- Photography Gala Endowment
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Reference Number
- 2007.220
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Copyright
- © Richard Misrach
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
