Taryn Simon

Infobox Artist


bgcolour = #6495ED
name = Taryn Simon
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birthdate = 1975 (age 33)
location = New York
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nationality = American
field = Photography,
Fine art photography
training = Brown University
movement = Contemporary art
works = The Innocents, An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar
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Taryn Simon (born 1975) is an American photographer. She is a graduate of Brown University and a Guggenheim Fellow. She was born in New York, daughter of a photographer for the State Department. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/06/arts/design/06simo.html?fta=y Bridget L. Goodbody, "Shedding Light on America's Dark Recesses"] , "New York Times", April 6, 2007]

She is an assignment photographer for the "New York Times Magazine". She is represented by Gagosian Gallery.

Her photography and writing have been featured in numerous publications and broadcasts including the "New York Times Magazine", "The New Yorker", CNN, BBC, Frontline, and NPR. Simon has been a visiting artist at institutions including Yale University, Bard College, Columbia University, School of Visual Arts, and Parsons School of Design.

Major works

Simon works exclusively with a large format camera and frequently employs dramatic lighting. Her work has been exhibited internationally and appears in many permanent collections.

Her series, "The Innocents", documents cases of wrongful conviction in the United States and investigates the role of photography in that process. Her most recent body of work is a series of photographs titled "An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar". Simon is also known for her photographs documenting international regions in turmoil.

"The Innocents" (2000-2003)

"The Innocents" documents the stories of individuals who served time in prison for violent crimes they did not commit. At issue is the question of photography's function as a credible eyewitness and arbiter of justice. [ [http://www.boldtype.com/issues/june2005/index.html Boldtype, June 2005] ] [ [http://www.mocp.org/uploads/Taryn%20Simon%20PR.pdf Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago] ]

"Nonfiction"

"Nonfiction" was a series of portraits and documentary images made in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Indonesia, Cuba, and the United States. Simon photographs in locations that help define her subjects.

"An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar" (2006)

In "An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar" she documents spaces that are integral to American industry and culture, but which remain inaccessible or unknown to a public audience. She gained access to and photographed rarely seen sites from domains including science, government, medicine, entertainment, nature, security and religion. This "index" examines subjects that, while provocative or controversial, are currently legal. It was photographed with a large format view camera except when prohibited. The publication features 70 colour plates and Salman Rushdie wrote the foreword to accompany the book. Ronald Dworkin contributed a commentary, while curators Elisabeth Sussman and Tina Kukielski of the Whitney Museum of American Art contributed an introduction. It was published by Steidl and exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 2006. As of late 2007 it was on view at the Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt, Germany. [ [http://www.arttattler.com/archivetarynsimon.html "Art Tattler"] ] [ [http://www.photonet.org.uk/index.php?plid=852The Photographers' Gallery, London] ]

References

External links

* Taryn Simon was [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4298264849715318858&q=Charlie+Rose+taryn+simon interviewed] on "Charlie Rose" on Friday, March 16, 2007
* [http://www.motionbox.com/video/player/ec9cdeb11b61#1 Excerpt from Simon's documentary to accompany "The Innocents", 2003]
* [http://www.tarynsimon.com Taryn Simon website]
* [http://www.artandcommerce.com/aac/C.aspx?VP=Mod_StaticPage.StaticPage_VPage&SP=home&HN=T Low-resolution examples of Simon's work (from Art+Commerce)]