High Museum of Art, Atlanta

NEW PHOTOGRAPHY

Taryn Simon

 

 

Ron Williamson

A former baseball player, he served 10 years of a death sentence for a murder he did not commit.

There is always something new to learn after visiting the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.    The other day was no exception.  The new exhibition on display consisted of 4 contemporary photography artists.  The one in particular that stood out to me were the works of Taryn Simon, a New York City-based artist.  One of her projects called Nonfiction,  included photographs documenting international regions in turmoil.   The pictures were very interesting, though sad of the destruction.  The other series that stopped me in my tracks were The Innocents.  They were photos of men  wrongfully convicted, imprisoned, and then subsequently freed from death row.   The primary case of wrongful convictions were mistaken identification.  They were exonerated through the use of DNA evidence.  This series of photos were taken at the scene of misidentification.    Each one was bold in their look of emotion and left me wondering of the path they went getting to that point.  I plan on getting the book containing all the photos and reading the stories behind it.  I thought it interesting.