ARTISANworks and the George Eastman House to present the photography of Nathan Lyons

August 26, 2009 — Print this Page

ROCHESTER, NY — On Thursday, September 10, and Friday, September 11, ARTISANworks and The George Eastman House will present the photography of Nathan Lyons as part of their annual lecture and exhibit series. In memoriam to the harrowing incidents of September 11, 2001, Lyons’ series, After 9/11, was developed in response to the destruction of the World Trade Center.

On September 10, in a lecture at the George Eastman House, he will present a preview of an entirely new body of work entitled Return Your Mind to its Upright Position at 5 p.m. in the Dryden Theatre.

On September 11, ARTISANworks will host the opening reception for After 9/11 from 6 p.m.—9 p.m. These events are open to the public and free to ARTISANworks and Eastman House members.

After 9/11

In response to the tragic events of September 11, photographer Nathan Lyons, known for his direct and often questioning observations of American culture, has created a poignant body of images. Photographing in small towns and large cities, Lyons has keenly observed the extreme variety of responses — from deep reverence to blatant commercialization — displayed by average Americans.

The provocative sequence of images, often loaded with multiple messages, is powerfully coherent and strangely disturbing. The edited sequence of photographs will both engage audiences to question their responses to this horrific event in the context of our complicated society and memorialize the loss of so many innocent lives.

Return Your Mind to its Upright Position

This current project represents a continuation of an ongoing investigation of the complexity of American culture. It began in the early 1960’s with the publication of Notations in Passing and was followed by Riding 1st Class on the Titanic, in 2000, and After 9/11 in 2003. This extended sequence of photographs has been developed over a period of almost fifty years and traces at one level a selective social history of America through this period and also sustains a broader historic overview of our layered past.
Lyons will discuss his working method and the structural considerations used in
developing an extended sequence of images.

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