Barbara Ciurej & Lindsay Lochman

Barbara Ciurej and Lindsay Lochman collaborate on photographic projects that explore the confluence of history, myth and popular culture. Ciurej is a Chicago- based photographer and Lochman is a photographer and educator in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Their photographs have been in numerous solo and group exhibits, nationally and internationally, and are in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, Walker Art Center, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Milwaukee Art Museum and Yale Center for British Art.  Today we share their series, Processed Views.

Inspiration Carleton Watkins Nevada Fall 700 ft, Yosemite CA, ca. 1867

Inspiration Carleton Watkins Nevada Fall 700 ft, Yosemite CA, ca. 1867

Inspired by Carleton Watkins, Sugar Loaf Islands, Pacific Ocean, 1869

Inspired by Carleton Watkins, Sugar Loaf Islands, Pacific Ocean, 1869

Inspired by Carleton Watkins, Albion River, Mendocino County, CA 1863

Inspired by Carleton Watkins, Albion River, Mendocino County, CA 1863

Processed Views 

Processed Views interprets the frontier of industrial food production: the seductive and alarming intersection of nature and technology. As we move further away from the sources of our food, we head into uncharted territory replete with unintended consequences for the environment and for our health.

In our commentary on the landscape of processed foods, we reference the work of photographer, Carleton Watkins (1829-1916). His sublime views framed the American West as a land of endless possibilities and significantly influenced the creation of the first national parks.  However, many of Watkins’ photographs were commissioned by the corporate interests of the day; the railroad, mining, lumber and milling companies. His commissions served as both documentation of and advertisement for the American West. Watkins’ images upheld the popular 19th century notion of Manifest Destiny – America’s bountiful land,  inevitably and justifiably utilized by its citizens.

Inspired by Carleton Watkins, Cape Horn, Columbia River, OR 1867

Inspired by Carleton Watkins, Cape Horn, Columbia River, OR 1867

Inspired by Carleton Watkins, Castle Rock, Columbia River, OR 1867

Inspired by Carleton Watkins, Castle Rock, Columbia River, OR 1867

Inspired by Carleton Watkins, El Capitan from the Mariposa Trail, CA ca. 1867

Inspired by Carleton Watkins, El Capitan from the Mariposa Trail, CA ca. 1867

Inspired by Carleton Watkins, Agassiz Rock and the Yosemite Falls, from Union Point, CA, ca. 1878

Inspired by Carleton Watkins, Agassiz Rock and the Yosemite Falls, from Union Point, CA, ca. 1878

Inspired by Carleton Watkins, The Town on The Hill, New Almaden, CA 1863

Inspired by Carleton Watkins, The Town on The Hill, New Almaden, CA 1863

Carleton Watikins, Moonlight on Columbia from Oregon Railroad, Cascades, ca. 1870

Carleton Watikins, Moonlight on Columbia from Oregon Railroad, Cascades, ca. 1870

Inspiration Carleton Watkins, Cathedral Rock, Yosemite, CA 1861

Inspiration Carleton Watkins, Cathedral Rock, Yosemite, CA 1861

We built these views to examine consumption, progress and the changing landscape.

To view more of Barbara and Lindsay’s work, please visit their website.