Revisiting the South: Richard Misrach’s Cancer Alley

June 2–October 14, 2012                    

 
In 1998 the High commissioned photographer Richard Misrach to create a body of work as part of the Museum’s Picturing the South series. 

Misrach chose to develop a study on the ecological degradation of a passage of the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans that is sometimes referred to as “Cancer Alley.” Like the Western landscapes for which Misrach is best known, these photographs challenge viewers with environmental and political concerns while seducing them with evocative and lyrically beautiful large-scale prints.

In 2010, the High encouraged Misrach to re-engage with the Cancer Alley work, and this exhibition presents 21 large-scale prints from the series. This will be the first time that many of these important works have been shown to a broad public.

The exhibition coincides with the release of an Aperture publication of Misrach’s project.