Zora J. Murff photographs, 2013-2015

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Collection is open for research. Images may only be used for educational, non-commercial purposes; any other use requires the photographer's permission.
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Summary

Creator:
Murff, Zora J.
Abstract:
Collection comprises twenty-five color inkjet prints from "Corrections," a documentary project by photographer Zora J. Murff. Taken in Iowa, these portraits of male and female teenage offenders on probation, parole, or charged again as adults are further contextualized by images of electronic tracking bracelets, jumpsuits, cells and detention centers, and intake paperwork. Images are accompanied by detailed captions written by the photographer. The prints measure 17 x 22 inches (image size 16 x 20 inches). As a whole, the collection documents the administration and human context of the 21st century juvenile justice system in the U.S. and Iowa. This work received the 2018 ADA Award for Emerging Documentarians. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
Extent:
1.0 Linear Foot (1 box)
Language:
Materials in English
Collection ID:
RL.11686

Background

Scope and content:

Collection comprises twenty-five color inkjet prints from "Corrections," a documentary project by photographer Zora J. Murff. Taken in Iowa, these portraits of male and female teenage offenders on probation, parole, or charged again as adults are further contextualized by images of electronic tracking bracelets, jumpsuits, cells and detention centers, and intake paperwork. Images are accompanied by detailed captions written by the photographer. The prints measure 17 x 22 inches (image size 16 x 20 inches). As a whole, the collection documents the administration and human context of the 21st century juvenile justice system in the U.S. and Iowa.

In the artist's statement, also included in the collection, Murff writes: "From 2012 to 2015, I worked as a Tracker for Linn County Juvenile Detention and Diversion Services in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. As a Tracker, I provided services to youths who were convicted of crimes, adjudicated, and subsequently ordered to complete probation...Through employing ideas of anonymity, voyeurism, and introspection, 'Corrections' is an examination of youth experience in the system, the role images play in defining someone who is deemed a 'criminal,' and how the concepts of privacy and control may affect their future."

This work received the 2018 ADA Award for Emerging Documentarians. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.

Biographical / historical:

Zora J Murff is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Photography at the University of Arkansas. Zora received his MFA in Studio Art from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and holds a BS in Psychology from Iowa State University. Combining his education in human services and art, Zora's photography focuses on the paradoxical relationship of how images are used to both reinforce and challenge social and cultural constructs. His work has been exhibited nationally, internationally, and featured online including Aperture Magazine, The New Yorker, VICE Magazine, The British Journal of Photography, and The New York Times. In 2018, Zora was selected as a 2019 Light Work Artist-in-Residence, named the Daylight Photo Award Winner in 2017, and was also selected as a LensCulture 2017 Top 50 Emerging Talent with his collaborative partner Rana Young. Zora's first monograph, Corrections, was published by Aint-Bad Editions in 2015 and his second monograph, LOST, Omaha, was published by Kris Graves Projects in 2018.

Acquisition information:
The Zora J. Murff photographs were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase in 2018.
Processing information:

Processed and described by Edward Coles, Paula Jeannet, and Alanna Styer, January 2019.

Accession(s) described in this collection guide: 2018-0171.

Arrangement:

Prints are arranged in original order as assigned by the photographer.

Physical facet:
25 color inkjet prints
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Images may only be used for educational, non-commercial purposes; any other use requires the photographer's permission.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Zora J. Murff photographs, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.