Richard Misrach: Petrochemical America

A poetic documentation of the communities and land around Cancer Alley, an industrial corridor stretching from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, the location of more than a hundred petrochemical refineries.

Color photograph of a still lake containing broken-off tree stumps and surrounded by greenery

Color photograph of a white crucifix with attached figure of Christ rising above smaller graves with power plant buildings in the background

Color photograph of a decrepit trailer home on stilts standing above a shore filled with trash

Color photograph of a water-filled ditch before a wide grassy meadow with a single cow on the horizon

Color photograph of a simple white clapboard church with two low square belltowers

Color photograph of two birds sitting in the branches of a dead tree amid broken off stumps in standing water

Color photograph of a woman peering through a light-filled window in a foyer

Color photograph of a white room with Neo-Classical detailing containing a beige sofa and dark wooden grand piano

Color photograph of a chain-link fence and ajar gate in standing water through a gray-green haze

Color photograph of a large leafy plant running along a water-filled ditch in front of a haze-covered power plant

Color photograph of a person standing on a shore of an industrial waterway with a passing cargo ship and power plant on the horizon

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Richard Misrach: Petrochemical America

Richard MisrachBatture, North of Port Allen, Louisiana

1998

pigment print, 62-3/4 x 82-3/4 inches (framed) [159.4 x 210.2 cm]

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Richard MisrachHoly Rosary Cemetery and Union Carbide Complex, Taft, Louisiana

1998

pigment print, 20 x 24 inches (mount) [50.8 x 61 cm]

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Richard MisrachAbandoned Trailer Home, Mississippi River, near Dow Chemical Plant, Plaquemine, Louisiana

1998

pigment print, 30 x 37 inches (mount) [76.2 x 94.0 cm]

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Richard MisrachHelicopter Returning From Deep Water Horizon Spill, Venice, Louisiana

2010

pigment print, 20 x 24 inches (mount) [50.8 x 61 cm]

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Richard MisrachBaptist Church, River Road, St. James, Louisiana

1998

pigment print, 30 x 37 inches (mount) [76.2 x 94.0 cm]

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Richard MisrachCypress Tree, Alligator Bayou

1998

pigment print, 62-3/4 x 82-3/4 inches (framed) [159.4 x 210.2 cm]

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Richard MisrachTour Guide, Nottoway Plantation, White Castle, Louisiana

1998

pigment print, 20 x 24 inches (mount) [50.8 x 61 cm]

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Richard MisrachNottoway Plantation, Interior, Louisiana

1998

pigment print, 20 x 24 inches (mount) [50.8 x 61 cm]

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Richard MisrachHazardous Waste Containment Site, Dow Chemical Corporation, Plaquemine, Louisiana

1998

pigment print, 20 x 24 inches (mount) [50.8 x 61 cm]

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Richard MisrachRoadside Vegetation and Orion Refining Corporation, Good Hope, Louisiana

1998

pigment print, 62-3/4 x 82-3/4 inches (framed) [159.4 x 210.2 cm]

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Richard MisrachNight Fishing, near Bonnet Carré Spillway, Louisiana

1998

pigment print, 30 x 37 inches (mount) [76.2 x 94.0 cm]

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Related Portfolios

Color photograph of a lone figure standing in an empty expanse of blue water

Richard Misrach: On The Beach 2.0

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Richard Misrach: On The Beach 2.0

An ongoing series exploring the abstracted pattern of an edgeless ocean surface, and the gestures and expressions of bathers adrift in the water.

Color photograph of a single figure standing in a shallow blue ocean — Richard Misrach, Untitled (February 14, 2012 6:18PM), 2012

pigment print, 62-3/4 x 82-3/4 inches (framed) [159.4 x 210.2 cm]

Color photograph of two women floating on the surface of a calm green sea near a sandy shore — Richard Misrach, Untitled (November 10, 2012 3:08PM), 2012

pigment print, 62-3/4 x 82-3/4 inches (framed) [159.4 x 210.2 cm]

Color photograph of small waves and ripples on the surface of green water — Richard Misrach, Untitled (November 18, 2013, 4:00PM), 2013

pigment print, 60-3/4 x 122 inches (framed) [154.3 x 310.0cm]

Color photograph of two men standing in knee-deep water near the shore of a calm sea — Richard Misrach, Untitled (November 10, 2012 5:53PM), 2012

pigment print, 62-3/4 x 82-3/4 inches (framed) [159.4 x 210.2 cm]

Color photograph of ripples and waves on the dark green surface of a sea — Richard Misrach, Untitled (Blackwater 7), 2013

pigment print, 62-3/4 x 82-3/4 inches (framed) [159.4 x 210.2 cm]

Color photograph of two women floating while holding hands on a calm, green ocean surface — Richard Misrach, Untitled (July 26, 2013, 5:21PM), 2013

pigment print, 62-3/4 x 82-3/4 inches (framed) [159.4 x 210.2 cm]

Color photograph of a lone windsurfer on a choppy silver sea — Richard Misrach, Windsurfer, Hawaii, 2008

pigment print, 62-3/4 x 82-3/4 inches (framed) [159.4 x 210.2 cm]

Color long-exposure blurred photograph of a sandy beach with rocks, two people, and moving waves — Richard Misrach, Untitled (January 17, 2015 6:36PM)

pigment print, 62-3/4 x 82-3/4 inches (framed) [159.4 x 210.2 cm]

Richard MisrachUntitled (February 14, 2012 6:18PM)

2012

pigment print, 62-3/4 x 82-3/4 inches (framed) [159.4 x 210.2 cm]

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Richard MisrachUntitled (November 10, 2012 3:08PM)

2012

pigment print, 62-3/4 x 82-3/4 inches (framed) [159.4 x 210.2 cm]

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Richard MisrachUntitled (November 18, 2013, 4:00PM)

2013

pigment print, 60-3/4 x 122 inches (framed) [154.3 x 310.0cm]

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Richard MisrachUntitled (November 10, 2012 5:53PM)

2012

pigment print, 62-3/4 x 82-3/4 inches (framed) [159.4 x 210.2 cm]

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Richard MisrachUntitled (Blackwater 7)

2013

pigment print, 62-3/4 x 82-3/4 inches (framed) [159.4 x 210.2 cm]

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Richard MisrachUntitled (July 26, 2013, 5:21PM)

2013

pigment print, 62-3/4 x 82-3/4 inches (framed) [159.4 x 210.2 cm]

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Richard MisrachWindsurfer, Hawaii

2008

pigment print, 62-3/4 x 82-3/4 inches (framed) [159.4 x 210.2 cm]

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Richard MisrachUntitled (January 17, 2015 6:36PM)

pigment print, 62-3/4 x 82-3/4 inches (framed) [159.4 x 210.2 cm]

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Color photograph of a tall metal and concrete fence receding into the misty horizon on the right

Richard Misrach: Border Cantos

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Richard Misrach: Border Cantos

This latest installation in Misrach’s ongoing Desert Cantos series explores the entire length of the US/Mexico border, in photographs made with a large-format camera as well as images captured with an iPhone.

Color photograph of a segment of tall metal fence in the middle of a bare field — Richard Misrach, Wall, Near Los Indios, Texas, 2015

pigment print, 61 x 80-3/4 inches (framed) [154.9 x 205.1 cm]

Color photograph of a metal fence running over a landscape of rocky hills and low green bushes into the horizon — Richard Misrach, Wall, Tierra Del Sol, California, 2015

pigment print, 61 x 80-3/4 inches (framed) [154.9 x 205.1 cm]

Color photograph of a tall metal fence segment ending in a bare dirt patch among low-lying trees and plants — Richard Misrach, Wall, Brownsville, Texas, 2015

pigment print, 61 x 80-3/4 inches (framed) [154.9 x 205.1 cm]

Color photograph of a metal fence made of X-shaped crossbars running through a hilly desert landscape — Richard Misrach, Normandy Wall Near Ocotillo, California, 2015

pigment print, 61 x 80-3/4 inches (framed) [154.9 x 205.1 cm]

Color photograph of a tattered blue flag standing next to a blue barrel marked AGUA in a desert landscape — Richard Misrach, Agua#1, near Calexico, California, 2014

pigment print, 61 x 80-3/4 inches (framed) [154.9 x 205.1 cm]

Color photograph of a tall metal fence running into the ocean from the beach, with beach goers visible through the bars — Richard Misrach, Playas de Tijuana #1 (Crowded Beach), San Diego, California, 2013

pigment print, 45 x 161-1/2 inches (framed) [114.3 x 410.2 cm]

Color photograph of scattered red ammunition casings lying on a bare cracked ground — Richard Misrach, Shell Casings #36, near Gulf of Mexico, Texas, 2014

pigment print, 17-1/2 x 22-1/2 inches (framed) [44.5 x 57.2 cm]

Color photograph of a woman looking through and obscured by a metal lattice and fence posts — Richard Misrach, Veronical, Friendship Circle, San Diego, California, 2013

pigment print, 80-3/4 x 61 inches (framed) [213.5 x 163 cm]

Richard MisrachPost and Wire Mesh Fence, Douglas, Arizona

2015

pigment print, 61 x 80-3/4 inches (framed) [154.9 x 205.1 cm]

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Richard MisrachWall, Near Los Indios, Texas

2015

pigment print, 61 x 80-3/4 inches (framed) [154.9 x 205.1 cm]

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Richard MisrachWall, Tierra Del Sol, California

2015

pigment print, 61 x 80-3/4 inches (framed) [154.9 x 205.1 cm]

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Richard MisrachWall, Brownsville, Texas

2015

pigment print, 61 x 80-3/4 inches (framed) [154.9 x 205.1 cm]

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Richard MisrachNormandy Wall Near Ocotillo, California

2015

pigment print, 61 x 80-3/4 inches (framed) [154.9 x 205.1 cm]

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Richard MisrachAgua#1, near Calexico, California

2014

pigment print, 61 x 80-3/4 inches (framed) [154.9 x 205.1 cm]

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Richard MisrachPlayas de Tijuana #1 (Crowded Beach), San Diego, California

2013

pigment print, 45 x 161-1/2 inches (framed) [114.3 x 410.2 cm]

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Richard MisrachShell Casings #36, near Gulf of Mexico, Texas

2014

pigment print, 17-1/2 x 22-1/2 inches (framed) [44.5 x 57.2 cm]

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Richard MisrachVeronical, Friendship Circle, San Diego, California

2013

pigment print, 80-3/4 x 61 inches (framed) [213.5 x 163 cm]

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Color aerial photograph of scattered swimmers in a shallow blue-green sea near the shore

Richard Misrach: On the Beach

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Richard Misrach: On the Beach

Photographed from a distant, raised vantage point, Misrach’s images pose the mote-sized human figure against a looming and abstract pattern of sand and ocean waves, exploring the tension between control and release.

Color photograph of a person floating on their back in shallow blue-green water near the shore — Richard Misrach, Untitled (#892-03), 2003

pigment print, 61 x 123 inches (framed) [154.9 x 312.4 cm]

Color photograph of the surface of a calm blue ocean — Richard Misrach, Untitled (#454-03), 2003

pigment print, 53-1/4 x 120 inches (framed) [135 x 305 cm]

Color aerial photograph of two people curled up on a sandy beach near the waterline — Richard Misrach, Untitled (#591-04), 2004

pigment print, 65-1/4 x 122-1/2 inches (framed) [165.7 x 285.8 cm]

Two color photographs of two people lying on towels on the beach near the waterline of a calm sea — Richard Misrach, Untitled (#172-04/170-04), 2004

two pigment prints, 48 x 115 inches (framed) [121.9 x 293.3 cm]

Color aerial photograph of beach-goers reclining on blankets on a sandy yellow beach — Richard Misrach, Untitled (#13-02), 2002

pigment print, 53-1/2 x 123-1/2 inches (framed) [136 x 313 cm]

Color photograph of the rippled surface of a dark blue sea — Richard Misrach, Untitled (#114-03), 2003

pigment print, 51-3/4 x 122-5/8 inches (framed) [131.5 x 311.6 cm]

Richard MisrachUntitled (#354-03)

2003

pigment print, 53 x 115-1/2 inches (framed) [135 x 294 cm]

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Richard MisrachUntitled (#892-03)

2003

pigment print, 61 x 123 inches (framed) [154.9 x 312.4 cm]

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Richard MisrachUntitled (#454-03)

2003

pigment print, 53-1/4 x 120 inches (framed) [135 x 305 cm]

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Richard MisrachUntitled (#591-04)

2004

pigment print, 65-1/4 x 122-1/2 inches (framed) [165.7 x 285.8 cm]

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Richard MisrachUntitled (#172-04/170-04)

2004

two pigment prints, 48 x 115 inches (framed) [121.9 x 293.3 cm]

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Richard MisrachUntitled (#13-02)

2002

pigment print, 53-1/2 x 123-1/2 inches (framed) [136 x 313 cm]

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Richard MisrachUntitled (#114-03)

2003

pigment print, 51-3/4 x 122-5/8 inches (framed) [131.5 x 311.6 cm]

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Color photograph of a painting of a woman with green skin on a wooden wall

Richard Misrach: The Writing on the Wall

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Richard Misrach: The Writing on the Wall

Photographing the graffiti found in desolate areas of Southern California, Arizona, and Nevada, the artist remarks, “In our age of relentless posting on social media, it is remarkable that people choose abandoned homes and remote rock formations as canvases for political expression. These are the hieroglyphics of our time.”