Interview: Photographer Captures the “Architecture of Stillness” in Deserted Towns and Empty Places
“Untitled (The Opening of the Field),” a segment of the “The Architecture of Silence” collection
Even in absence, one can undoubtedly sense presence—or at least that’s what Steven Seidenberg’s photography appears to convey. Throughout his career, the photographer has focused on uncovering the unseen, portraying serene scenes that, albeit devoid of people, still hold their imprints.
Currently, the John and Geraldine Lilley Museum of Art in Reno, Nev., has curated several of Seidenberg’s images into Home Truth: Image-Making in Absence. The exhibition, which commenced in late January, engages with subjects of memory, belonging, history, and migration through three unique series: The Architecture of Silence, Baobab, and Kanazawa Vacancy. Although unfolding across various locales, each project reinterprets architecture not as fixed, but as observers, as elements that have documented how individuals have navigated and inhabited any particular space.
Set in Puglia, The Architecture of Silence investigates Italy’s unsuccessful post-war land reform initiative, cataloging the agricultural landscapes that have been left behind. In Baobab, Seidenberg explores a migrant camp in Rome, where tents evolve from temporary refuges to established hubs amid an urban setting.
“I never capture individuals, and in this situation, that was crucial for gaining access [to the tent city],” Seidenberg informs My Modern Met. “The camp was unlawfully dismantled by the Italian police a few months after these photos were captured.”
Kanazawa Vacancy, conversely, shifts from Italy to Japan, documenting akiya (vacant residences) and akichi (empty lots). These locations expose the social and material repercussions of population decline and aging neighborhoods, which, upon first inspection, may not be immediately noticeable. Yet it’s exactly that tension between what is seen and unseen that Seidenberg aims to investigate throughout his work, unveiling what lies beyond the confines of the photographic frame itself.
“I’m frequently attracted to what’s invisible directly in the line of sight,” Seidenberg clarifies. “The lack of humans in the photographs may evoke an impression of neglect, but the difference is clear.”
My Modern Met had the opportunity to converse with Steven Seidenberg regarding his photographic approach and the three series that constitute Home Truth: Image-Making in Absence. Continue reading for our exclusive chat with the photographer.
“Untitled,” a segment of the “Kanazawa Vacancy” collection
“Untitled,” a segment of the “Baobab” collection
“Untitled (Couch and Window),” a segment of the “The Architecture of Silence” collection
What initially attracted you to photography as your main artistic form?
The significance of photography in my work is largely circumstantial, as such decisions and impulses often are. Among my visual endeavors, which also encompass painting and drawing, I discovered a route to regular exhibition and sharing of my creations as a photographer, and those prospects have certainly influenced my focus on this medium.
Nonetheless, I believe photography substantially overlaps with my public role as a writer, whose craft flows between poetic, philosophical, and narrative tones. Despite the imposition of what Vilém Flusser refers to as the “apparatus” of the camera, the photograph stands as the medium nearest to achieving the art of seeing as its foundation.
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