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Collections

John Pfahl
Altered Landscapes1974-1978

Not on view
Color photograph of a sandy beach with a thin rope forming a triangular shape on the sand, a foaming wave at the apex, and a dark rock in turquoise water beyond
Color photograph of a dense deciduous forest in full leaf, with slender gray-barked trees receding into deep green foliage. Several trunks are marked with orange and yellow surveyor's tape.
Color photograph of weathered wooden double doors set into a concrete block wall, doors marked with rows of small blue tape strips, one door ajar revealing a wooden staircase structure and dark tree line beyond, dirt and gravel ground in foreground.
Color photograph of pale yellow limestone boulders and rubble scattered across reddish-brown ground, with thin black lines forming bracket-like geometric overlays on the rocks.
Color photograph of the base of large fluted classical columns on a stone platform, with short diagonal orange marks applied across the columns and steps at regular intervals; trees visible in the background at left.
Color photograph of a colonnade of fluted classical columns in pale stone, receding in perspective with small blue diagonal marks placed at intervals across the columns and wall; green trees visible through the gaps.
Color photograph of a large empty interior space with dark blue carpet and fluorescent ceiling lights; thin red string or wire forms a three-dimensional rectangular outline that extends from the floor up to the white walls and columns.
Color photograph looking up at a dark ceiling, where a red wire cube structure is mounted above a glowing yellow light bulb; green tree foliage is visible at the bottom edge of the frame.
Color photograph of a dense forest interior with pale-barked birch or aspen trunks rising from a lush understory of green and yellow foliage, crisscrossed by thin diagonal orange lines overlaid on the image.
Color photograph of dense low scrubland viewed from above, a tangle of brown woody stems interspersed with green shrubs and small clusters of white and yellow flowers, shot in sharp detail across the entire frame.
Color photograph of a mossy forest floor with dark tree trunks receding into the background; a taut yellow cord or rope stretches diagonally across the scene, anchored to a trunk at center, pointing toward a low-growing broad-leafed plant in the foreground.
Color photograph of a dense mangrove forest interior, with pale arching prop roots spreading across a leaf-littered floor and vertical trunks receding into a canopy of green foliage.
Color photograph of bamboo stalks, dark green to near-black, rising from a dense carpet of pale dried fallen leaves covering the ground.
Color photograph of a dense forest scene, with pale-barked trees rising from a moss-covered rock outcropping surrounded by layered green foliage, dappled light contrasting with deep shadows in the background.
Color photograph of a dense aspen grove, pale yellow-white trunks with dark markings receding into the background, a large lichen-covered boulder in the foreground amid low green undergrowth.
Color photograph of a vast cracked mud flat stretching to the horizon, with a zigzag line of thin rods laid across the textured surface; an isolated butte visible in the far distance under an overcast sky.
Color photograph of a barren volcanic landscape with pale, leafless twisted branches and dead trees scattered across dark brown earth, red string or cord strung between several upright branches, a smooth rounded hill rising in the background.
Color photograph of a large oak tree with pale gray, deeply furrowed bark and sprawling, intertwining branches filling the frame, set in a sun-dappled woodland with sparse dry ground cover below.
Color photograph of a rocky terrain with sparse green vegetation, scattered slate fragments in the foreground, and three weathered wooden posts rising before a dark layered stone wall in the background. Narrow vertical lines of white stones or chalk extend from the posts toward the viewer.
Color photograph of a wooded forest landscape, a narrow dirt path receding into the distance flanked by tall, slender dark-trunked trees with dense green foliage lit by dappled sunlight; a fallen log rests at lower center.
Color photograph of a row of slender trees with feathery dark green canopies lining a white sand beach, their pale trunks evenly spaced against a blue ocean and sky horizon.
Color photograph of shallow, rippling water over a rocky lake bed, with numerous small white spherical objects scattered across the surface and submerged beneath, receding toward a dark horizon line.
Color photograph of a gravel and dirt path receding into dense autumn woodland, with six bright orange spheres placed at intervals along the center of the trail.
Color photograph of a large sand mound covered in tan fabric secured by rows of black rubber tires, set in a flat desert landscape; scattered across the sandy foreground are small gold-colored disc-shaped objects arranged in a loose grid pattern.
Color photograph of nine white spheres arranged in a loose triangular grid across a sunlit desert landscape of rippled sandy terrain studded with dark volcanic rocks, shot from above.
Color photograph of a vast white salt flat landscape, with three slender parallel rods lying diagonally across the textured surface, rugged desert mountains visible along the horizon under a pale sky.
Color photograph of a vast desert landscape with sparse scrub brush on sandy terrain, a thin vertical line or rod visible in the foreground, and a straight road receding toward distant mountains in the hazy background.
Color photograph of a flat desert landscape with scattered dark rocks and sparse low shrubs, a thin yellow cord or string laid across the sandy foreground, and a lone conical hill rising from the hazy horizon.
Color photograph of a desert landscape with a diagonal line of large boulders receding toward distant mountains, and dark circular outlines drawn or marked on the sandy foreground.
Color photograph of cracked, dried earth filling the entire frame, with deep irregular fissures forming polygonal segments in ochre and brown tones, overlaid with a faint blue grid.
Color photograph of two red-coated dogs in a freshly plowed field at low-angle light; one dog in the foreground faces the camera, a second sits in the middle distance; rows of dark red-brown soil recede toward a tree line, with thin green wire visible across the field.
Color photograph of a bull moose with large antlers resting in golden grass at a woodland edge, lit by warm raking light; a metal survey stake or tripod stand in the foreground vegetation.
Color photograph of a green field with multiple dome-shaped haystacks scattered across the middle ground, a treeline visible under an overcast sky.
Color photograph of a still, shallow body of water at dusk, with two wooden stakes forming a chevron angle reflected in the glassy surface; muted pink and gray sky, distant mountains at the horizon.
Color photograph of a desert landscape with red sandstone buttes on the horizon under a pale sky; a bright red rope or cord winds across the sandy foreground, looping around sparse desert shrubs.
Color photograph of an arid landscape with red sandstone cliffs in the background, a scrubby plain scattered with dark boulders, and a horizontal row of small orange sculptural forms arranged across the foreground ground.
Color photograph of a dark agricultural field at dusk, with seven small candle flames scattered across the bare soil casting warm orange light on the ground; a treeline silhouetted against a dim blue-gray sky at the horizon.
Color photograph of a desert landscape at dusk, with red sandstone mesas along the horizon beneath a deep blue-gray sky. A full moon glows near the top center, and a small circular reflective disc rests among boulders in the shadowed foreground.
Color photograph of a vast rocky desert plain extending to a pale horizon, dark stones covering the ground with warm light reflecting in the distance; a row of thin diagonal white rods or stakes placed at regular intervals across the middle ground.
Color photograph of a narrow slot canyon with dark, shadowed rock walls in the foreground and sunlit orange sandstone cliffs receding into the distance; a white rope coils on a boulder at center, with sparse vegetation visible below.
Color photograph of a lone tree silhouetted against a dramatic, cloud-filled purple-gray sky, centered in an open grassland with rocky mountain ridges in the background; a thin white wire or cord curves along the ground in the foreground.
Color photograph of two palm trees with intertwined bases arching outward on a rocky shoreline, framing a calm ocean horizon under an overcast sky, with a thin red horizontal line crossing the middle distance.
Color photograph, aerial view of a coastline with white-foamed waves, a sandy shore, and low coastal vegetation; two strips of white lace trim are laid across the green scrubland in the foreground, echoing the curved lines of the breaking waves above.
Color photograph of a coastal landscape, dark volcanic rock formations in the foreground meeting a deep blue choppy ocean at the horizon under an overcast sky; a small white vertical stake stands alone near the center of the rocky surface.
Color photograph of dark volcanic rock coastline with deep blue ocean and overcast sky; a white ocean spray plume rises at center horizon, and two small white parallel sticks rest on the rock in the foreground.
Color photograph of dark volcanic rock coastline with three small white sticks arranged vertically in the foreground; a wave crashes into white spray against deep blue ocean and pale sky beyond.
Color photograph of dark volcanic rock coastline with four small white sticks arranged in a parallel row in the foreground; a large wave crashes against the rocks in the middle distance, with deep blue ocean and pale sky beyond.
Color photograph of dark volcanic rock coastline with a large wave crashing into white spray at the horizon; five small white sticks arranged in a tally-mark pattern rest on the black lava in the foreground.
Artist or Maker
John Pfahl
Title
Altered Landscapes
Place Made
United States
Date Made
1974-1978
Medium
48 Dye-imbibition prints
Dimensions
Image (each): 7 1/4 × 10 in. (18.42 × 25.4 cm) Primary support (each): 8 7/16 × 11 in. (21.43 × 27.94 cm) Overall: 9 3/4 × 13 15/16 × 2 1/4 in. (24.77 × 35.4 × 5.72 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Barry Lowen
Accession Number
M.82.261.1-.48
Classification
Photographs
Collecting Area
Photography