Jay Turner Frey Seawell Photographs, 2011-2015

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Summary

Creator:
Seawell, Jay Turner Frey
Abstract:
Collection contains 45 color and black-and-white photographs from Jay Turner Frey Seawell's projects "National Trust" and "The Mall." The two series document Washington, D.C. from 2011-2015. The series "National Trust" “explores the careful manufacturing of appearances in relation to power, politics, and media in the United States." "The Mall" is Seawell's response to "the mainstream narrative of American history that dots the landscape" of Washington, D.C. Seawell is a photographer based in Washington, D.C. Seawell was the winner of the 2016 ADA Award for Innovation in the Documentary Arts.
Extent:
3.0 Linear Feet
Language:
Materials in English
Collection ID:
RL.11278

Background

Scope and content:

Jay Turner Frey Seawell won the 2016 Archive of Documentary Arts Award for Innovation in Documentary Arts for his series "National Trust" and "The Mall." The ADA Collection Awards were established to diversify the ADA’s collection in order to better reflect the multitude of viewpoints and communities from which work is being made in the documentary arts today.

All images measure 12 x 18” on 16 x 22” paper and were printed with an Epson 9890 printer and Epson Ultrachrome HDR inks on Hahnemühle Photo Silk Baryta from digital RAW files.

Seawell provided the following abstract about his work:

National Trust

National Trust explores the careful manufacturing of appearances in relation to power, politics, and media in the United States. The subjects of National Trust range from historical structures to political spectacles and media culture, but they are all inextricably tied to appearances. Architectural forms recall the grandeur of GrecoRoman temples, and political rallies exist as meticulously staged theatre sets full of patriotic glitz. These carefully constructed façades can stand for different things, but in a sense they are intended to inspire trust among the citizenry. This trust has been shattered. I depict these surface appearances as existing amidst an atmosphere of mystery and darkness that recurs throughout the body of work, and this aesthetic mirrors an ongoing and profound erosion of trust in American society.

The Mall

In 2013 I moved to Washington, DC, the epicenter of historical commemoration in the United States. While photographing in the capital, I have responded to the mainstream narrative of American history that dots the landscape. Walking through the grounds of the National Mall, I wonder: How much strength does the official narrative about the United States hold for me? The Mall has become a space for confronting fears and anxieties about my country. In these pictures a contested space emerges, a place where idealism and beauty collide with darkness and disenchantment. The pictures come from a position of skepticism about the story that the capital wants to sell. It’s also a story from which I haven’t fully broken free.

Biographical / historical:

Jay Turner Frey Seawell is a photographer based in Washington, DC. He holds an MFA in Photography from Columbia College in Chicago. His photographs have been exhibited throughout the United States as well as internationally. He is a two-time nominee for the Baum Award for an Emerging American Photographer. His work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Photography. His photographs have appeared in publications including VICE Magazine and Bloomberg Businessweek. He was the winner of the 2016 ADA Award for Innovation in the Documentary Arts.

Acquisition information:
The Jay Turner Frey Seawell Photographs were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase in 2016.
Processing information:

Processed by Katrina Martin, August 2016

Accessions described in this collection guide: 2016-0230

Arrangement:

Arranged into two series: National Trust and The Mall. Arrangement provided by creator.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Subjects

Click on terms below to find related finding aids on this site. For other related materials in the Duke University Libraries, search for these terms in the Catalog.

Format:
Documentary photography
Names:
Archive of Documentary Arts (Duke University)
Seawell, Jay Turner Frey
Places:
Lincoln Memorial (Washington, D.C.)
Washington (D.C.) -- Pictorial works
Washington Monument (Washington, D.C.)
Mall, The (Washington, D.C.)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial (Washington, D.C.)

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48 hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

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], Jay Turner Frey Seawell Photographs, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.