GREAT RIFT/SNAKE RIVER/SHOSHONE FALLS 2009
Twin Falls, Idaho is a rural city of 40,000 people in the middle of the Snake River Plain. Many things converge over this innocuous, fairly banal Western town: the plain itself, the lava flows that built it, the river that cut it over eons into a spectacular canyon, and the hydraulic engineering that has made it one of America’s most productive agricultural breadbaskets. The city’s 212-foot tall Shoshone Falls, imaged most famously by US Geological Survey photographer Timothy H. O’Sullivan in 1868 and 1874, are a quiet national icon, the “Niagara of the West,” although much domesticated and diminished today by hydroelectric generation and dams. The “Magic Valley,” as its prosperous residents call it, offers a rich window into the tensions and follies of the privatized American dream, particularly as manifested in residential architecture. Somewhere between packaged suburban tract home and ranting McMansion, Twin Falls’ homes are a primary and enduring personal projection into the landscape, matched, surrounded and only made stranger by the region’s thorough cultivation. From above, the vestiges of Thomas Jefferson’s agrarian utopia crashes head-on into the selfishness of contemporary trophy-home mediocrity.
Hand-made book of 16 aerial images photographed by Michael Light in March 2009. Printed on Epson Enhanced Matte paper using archival Epson Ultrachrome 3 pigment inks, adhered with archival Gudy 831 double-sided pressure adhesive. Archival stability well exceeds c-print standards. Custom box by John DeMerritt Bookbinding, Emeryville, CA. Edition of 10, signed on rear cover.
Shoshone Falls, Timothy O'Sullivan c.1874
This image was the key historical muse to me in making this Idaho work.
00. COVER: Two-Point-Butte Cinder Cones Looking South, Craters of the Moon Wilderness, ID, 2009
From Great Rift/Snake River/Shoshone Falls; artist's book, 35"x44", ed. 10
24" x 30" pigment print, ed. 5
40" x 50" pigment print, ed. 5
01. Little Prairie Lava Flow Looking Northwest, Pioneer Mountains Beyond, Craters of the Moon, ID, 2009
From Great Rift/Snake River/Shoshone Falls; artist's book, 35"x44", ed. 10
24" x 30" pigment print, ed. 5
40" x 50" pigment print, ed. 5
02. Sentinel Cinder Cone With Watchman Cone Beyond, Craters of the Moon Wilderness, ID, 2009
From Great Rift/Snake River/Shoshone Falls; artist's book, 35"x44", ed. 10
24" x 30" pigment print, ed. 5
40" x 50" pigment print, ed. 5
03. Twin Falls and the Snake River Looking West, Hydroelectric Station to Left, Twin Falls, ID, 2009
From Great Rift/Snake River/Shoshone Falls; artist's book, 35"x44", ed. 10
24" x 30" pigment print, ed. 5
40" x 50" pigment print, ed. 5
04. Jerome Country Club Subdivision and Edge of Snake River Plain Looking North, Jerome, ID, 2009
From Great Rift/Snake River/Shoshone Falls; artist's book, 35"x44", ed. 10
24" x 30" pigment print, ed. 5
40" x 50" pigment print, ed. 5
05. Irrigation Canal Spilling Into Snake River, Looking Southeast in the “Magic Valley,” Twin Falls, ID, 2009
From Great Rift/Snake River/Shoshone Falls; artist's book, 35"x44", ed. 10
24" x 30" pigment print, ed. 5
40" x 50" pigment print, ed. 5
06. Houses on the Edge of the Snake River Lava Plain, Canyon View Road Looking North, Jerome, ID 2009
From Great Rift/Snake River/Shoshone Falls; artist's book, 35"x44", ed. 10
24" x 30" pigment print, ed. 5
40" x 50" pigment print, ed. 5
07. Perrine Bridge, Snake River, and the Magic Valley Mall Looking Southwest, Twin Falls, ID, 2009
From Great Rift/Snake River/Shoshone Falls; artist's book, 35"x44", ed. 10
24" x 30" pigment print, ed. 5
40" x 50" pigment print, ed. 5
08. Houses on West Elmgrove Drive Looking Northwest In Morning, Pillar Falls at Right, Twin Falls, ID, 2009
From Great Rift/Snake River/Shoshone Falls; artist's book, 35"x44", ed. 10
24" x 30" pigment print, ed. 5
40" x 50" pigment print, ed. 5
09. Houses on West Elmgrove Drive Looking Northwest In Evening, Pillar Falls at Right, Twin Falls, ID, 2009
From Great Rift/Snake River/Shoshone Falls; artist's book, 35"x44", ed. 10
24" x 30" pigment print, ed. 5
40" x 50" pigment print, ed. 5
10. Shoshone Falls Road Looking Southeast, Golf Course Road at Left, Twin Falls, ID, 2009
From Great Rift/Snake River/Shoshone Falls; artist's book, 35"x44", ed. 10
24" x 30" pigment print, ed. 5
40" x 50" pigment print, ed. 5
11. Evel Knievel’s 1974 Jump Ramp Looking North, Snake River Beyond, Twin Falls, ID, 2009
From Great Rift/Snake River/Shoshone Falls; artist's book, 35"x44", ed. 10
24" x 30" pigment print, ed. 5
40" x 50" pigment print, ed. 5
12. Evel Knievel’s 1974 Jump Ramp and Snake River Looking East, Shoshone Falls Beyond, Twin Falls, ID, 2009
From Great Rift/Snake River/Shoshone Falls; artist's book, 35"x44", ed. 10
24" x 30" pigment print, ed. 5
40" x 50" pigment print, ed. 5
13. East 4300 North Road and Rock Creek Canyon, Looking Northeast, Twin Falls, ID, 2009
From Great Rift/Snake River/Shoshone Falls; artist's book, 35"x44", ed. 10
24" x 30" pigment print, ed. 5
40" x 50" pigment print, ed. 5
14. New Subdivision on Meander Points Drive, Looking East, Twin Falls, ID, 2009
From Great Rift/Snake River/Shoshone Falls; artist's book, 35"x44", ed. 10
24" x 30" pigment print, ed. 5
40" x 50" pigment print, ed. 5
15. “Canyon Gate” Subdivision Looking Northeast, Snake River Beyond, Twin Falls, ID, 2009
From Great Rift/Snake River/Shoshone Falls; artist's book, 35"x44", ed. 10
24" x 30" pigment print, ed. 5
40" x 50" pigment print, ed. 5
16. New Construction Overlooking Dierkes Lake, Twin Falls, ID, 2009
From Great Rift/Snake River/Shoshone Falls; artist's book, 35"x44", ed. 10
24" x 30" pigment print, ed. 5
40" x 50" pigment print, ed. 5
17. Shoshone Falls Looking East,135 Years After Timothy O’Sullivan’s First View, Twin Falls, ID, 2009
From Great Rift/Snake River/Shoshone Falls; artist's book, 35"x44", ed. 10
24" x 30" pigment print, ed. 5
40" x 50" pigment print, ed. 5
Shoshone Falls, Timothy O'Sullivan c. 1874
This image was the key historical muse to me in making this Idaho work.
Great Rift 2009