David Plowden: Vanishing Point November 9 — December 29, 2007
We are thrilled to present "David Plowden: Vanishing Point," a retrospective exhibition surveying the career of one of Chicago's most prolific and respected photographers. With more than twenty books published on his work, Vanishing Point is his newest release which coincides with fifty years of picture making and his 75th birthday.
David Plowden is regarded as one of the most dedicated photographers of vanishing America – the man-made American of small towns, family owned farms, mom n' pop stores, steam railroads, ships and majestic viaducts and bridges. Journeying along the back roads and highways of the United States, Plowden photographs details often overlooked by the common traveler, stopping to admire a vast field of wheat, a window pane on the side of a rural church, the ragged edge of a wind-torn barn and the silence of small towns. Along the way, he introduces us to people who live in the heart of America, including the proprietor of a local general store in Iowa, a mechanic working on a steam locomotive, a child riding his bicycle along Main street and a steel worker slagging ingots in an Indiana steel mill.
Through stunning black and white photographs, Plowden documents a fading landscape that is giving way to big box America and suburban construction. As more and more communities find themselves disappearing, Plowden is there to solidify their place in America's history. Like Walker Evans, his friend and mentor, Plowden is driven by a need to document -- a need to expose all that is vanishing.
All images are available as 11 x 14" gelatin silver prints, not editioned. Pieces range in price from $3000 to $6000, depending on the negative date. Select images are also available as 16 x 20" gelatin silver prints made in an edition of 25 for $7500.
Please call: (312) 266-2350 for prices of specific pieces. Prices are print only unless otherwise indicated.
David Plowden Abandoned Barn, Barns County, ND, 1973
David Plowden,Abandoned Barn, Barns County, ND, 1973
From the Vanishing Point series
11 x 14" gelatin silver print
Edition open
David Plowden Abandoned Grain Elevators, Arena, North Dakota, 2003
David Plowden,Abandoned Grain Elevators, Arena, North Dakota, 2003
From the Vanishing Point series
11 x 14" gelatin silver print
Edition open
David Plowden Auburn City Hardware, Auburn, Indiana, 2005
David Plowden,Auburn City Hardware, Auburn, Indiana, 2005
From the Vanishing Point series
11 x 14" gelatin silver print
Edition open
David Plowden Canadian Pacific and Canadian National Railway bridges across Fraser River, Siska Creek, BC, 1968
David Plowden,Canadian Pacific and Canadian National Railway bridges across Fraser River, Siska Creek, BC, 1968
From the Vanishing Point series
14 x 11" gelatin silver print
Edition open
David Plowden Canadian Pacific and Canadian National Railway bridges across Fraser River, Siska Creek, BC, 1979
David Plowden,Canadian Pacific and Canadian National Railway bridges across Fraser River, Siska Creek, BC, 1979
From the Vanishing Point series
11 x 14" gelatin silver print
Edition open
David Plowden Canadian Pacific Railway Locomotive Number 2412, Montreal, Quebec, 1960
David Plowden,Canadian Pacific Railway Locomotive Number 2412, Montreal, Quebec, 1960
From the Vanishing Point series
14 x 11" geletin silver print
Edition open
David Plowden Canadian Pacific Railway Locomotives in Snowstorm, Montreal, Quebec, 1960
David Plowden,Canadian Pacific Railway Locomotives in Snowstorm, Montreal, Quebec, 1960
From the Vanishing Point series
11 x 14" geletin silver print
Edition open
David Plowden Canadian Pacific Railway, Trains departing Windsor Station, Montreal, Quebec , 1960
