Wednesday, August 12, 2009

ARTmostfierce's Photolucida Critical Mass 2009 picks

Photos by David Taylor entries for Photolucida's Critical Mass 2009



Working the Line For the last three years David Taylor have been photographing the along the U.S./Mexico border between El Paso/Juarez and the Tijuana/San Diego. It is a territory in transition. During that period the United States Border Patrol has doubled in size and the federal government has constructed over 600 miles of pedestrian fencing and vehicle barrier. With apparatus that range from simple tire drags (that erase foot prints allowing fresh evidence of crossing to be more readily identified) to seismic sensors (that detect the passage of people on foot or in a vehicle) the border is under constant surveillance. To date the Border Patrol has attained “operational control” in many areas, however people and drugs continue to cross. Much of that traffic occurs in the most remote and rugged areas of the desert. His travels along the border have been done both alone and in the company of Border Patrol agents. He has been granted broad access to photograph field operations and the routine activities that occur within Border Patrol stations. The resulting pictures are intended to offer a view into locations and situations that we generally do not access. In doing so, hoping to humanize a subject that is most often framed by ideologically driven polemics. The series for me has Photo-documentary value since access is limited to the public and its thematic is a current issue. The first photo is my favorite and a YES for David!

David Taylor
Las Cruces, NM
United States
djtaylor@nmsu.edu
www.dtaylorphoto.com

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