Scott and Helen Nearing at Forest Farm, Harborside, Maine, October 1982. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Dome Village, Los Angeles, California, August 1994. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Old Economy, Ambridge, Pennsylvania, August 1995. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Ruins of Drop City, Trinidad, Colorado, August 1995. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Oneida Community Mansion House, Oneida, New York, August 1996. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Roofless Church, New Harmony, Indiana, May 2000. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Daily Menu, Biosphere 2, Oracle, Arizona, July 2000. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Paolo Soleri at Arcosanti, Cordes Junction, Arizona, August 2000. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
The Farm, Summertown, Tennessee, March 2003. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Dacha/Staff Building, Gesundheit! Institute, Hillsboro, West Virginia, April 2004. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Light of Truth Universal Shrine (LOTUS), Yogaville, Buckingham, Virginia, April 2004. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Lost Valley Education Center, Dexter, Oregon, April 2004. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Sirius Community during a break in a Paths of Awakening weekend retreat with Mirabai Devi, Shutesbury, Massachusetts, April 2004. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Jyoti Kori‑Bhatt and Seth Williams at Appel Farm Restoration Project, a commune in formation, with Huw “Piper” Wiliams, founder of Tolstoy Farm, Edwall, Washington, August 2004. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
“Learning” by Jean Charlot, Camp Rockmount, Black Mountain, North Carolina, April 2005. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Piedmont Biofuels, Pittsboro, North Carolina, April 2005. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Garden Roof, City Hall, Chicago, May 2005. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Mormon Temple, Nauvoo, Illinois, May 2005. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Liz Christy Garden, Bowery and Houston Streets, New York City, June 2005. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Roosevelt Public School, Roosevelt, New Jersey, June 2005. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
New Elm Springs Colony, Ethan, South Dakota, July 2005. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Surreal Estates, Sacramento, California, July 2005. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
The General Sherman Tree, Sequoia
National Park, California, January 1994. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
US Post Office, Seaside, Florida,
December 2004. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Queen of the Prom, the Range
Nightclub, Slab City, California,
March 2005. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
An Earthship at Earthaven Ecovillage, Black Mountain, North Carolina, April 2005. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Lake Tuendae, Zzyzx Springs,
California, March 2005. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Leonard Knight at Salvation
Mountain, Slab City, California,
March 2005. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
N Street Cohousing, Davis,
California, March 2005. Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Materials: C-prints
Dimensions: 26 1⁄2 x 33 1⁄4 in. (67.3 x 84.4 cm) each
Credit: Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
A pioneer of color photography at the time of its debut in the world of art in the 1970s, Joel Sternfeld is known for his in-depth meditations on uniquely American sites and stories. Sternfeld’s Sweet Earth is a series of photographs and accompanying texts that chronicle experimental utopias in the United States, in regions as diverse as California’s Mojave Desert, a roof garden in downtown Chicago, and the hills of Western Massachusetts, and from early American transcendentalist movements to more recent back-to-land endeavors.
Whether Sternfeld is examining a religious sect, a government assistance program, or an ecologically minded commune for nature-lovers, the tension between success and failure is a dominant theme across the series, as are the competing ideologies of individualism and collectivism. Possible responses to these tensions align with the many moods of Sternfeld’s photographs: irony, ecstasy, sadness, loneliness, controversy, and frequent abandon. Even so, there are shining moments when pragmatism prevails, and some good can be gleaned from these experiments. Even those communities that are now long gone (Black Mountain College in North Carolina, for instance, is now a Christian boys’ camp) can, thanks to Sternfeld’s keen eye, leave a lasting and irrevocable trace on our collective unconscious.
Audio
Co-curator Tina Kukielski on Joel Sternfeld [1 of 2]
Co-curator Tina Kukielski on Joel Sternfeld [2 of 2]
Co-curator Tina Kukielski on the placement of multiple artworks in the Hall of Sculpture
