Since Marcel Duchamp created his "readymades" a century ago the practice of incorporating commodity objects into art has become ever more pervasive. Uncommon Goods traces one particularly important aspect of that progression: the shift in artistic concern toward the hidden ethic…
This dissertation offers a comprehensive account of the work of American photographer, Frederick Sommer (1905-1999). Looking closely at the works produced between 1939-1962, I argue that a defining quality of Sommer’s work is its commitment to effects of density, opacity, and co…
When debris is discarded, it becomes integrated into the geologic processes and identity. We all leave objects behind after consumption. A statement in history lingers, told by our physical traces and material remains. These components reveal a collective, as well as personal id…