Altered Sites #7

Manuel Acevedo, Altered Sites #7, 1998, printed 2016, inkjet print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center, 2016.45, © 1998, Manuel Acevedo
Copied Manuel Acevedo, Altered Sites #7, 1998, printed 2016, inkjet print, sheet and image: 40 3⁄8 × 59 7⁄8 in. (102.6 × 152.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center, 2016.45, © 1998, Manuel Acevedo

Artwork Details

Title
Altered Sites #7
Artist
Date
1998, printed 2016
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet and image: 40 3⁄8 × 59 7⁄8 in. (102.6 × 152.1 cm)
Copyright
© 1998, Manuel Acevedo
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center
Mediums Description
inkjet print
Classifications
Subjects
  • Object — other — sign
  • Animal — bird
  • Architecture — vehicle — automobile
  • Cityscape — street
Object Number
2016.45
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2016.45

Artwork Description

At left, a "Do not enter" sign turns away passers-by from a deteriorating street corner. Meanwhile, a structure drawn by the artist on the photograph rises up to the heavens and welcomes birds. Manuel Acevedo reimagines the streets of his hometown of Newark, New Jersey, a city shaped by periods of unrest and urban renewal initiatives that tore down existing housing to erect massive housing projects. "I drew on top of the photograph," Acevedo reflected, "to transform the bleakness of underutilized landscapes into visionary architectural proposals." His photograph unleashes the potential of derelict public spaces.

Down These Mean Streets: Community and Place in Urban Photography, 2017
Description in Spanish

À la izquierda, un letrero donde se lee ​“Do not enter” aleja a los peatones de una esquina en deterioro. Simultáneamente, una estructura dibujada por el artista sobre la fotografía se eleva hasta el cielo y les da la bienvenida a los pájaros. Manuel Acevedo reimagina las calles de su ciudad natal, Newark (New Jersey), caracterizada por períodos de disturbios sociales y por iniciativas de renovación urbana que demolieron los edificios existentes para construir enormes proyectos de vivienda. ​“Dibujé encima de la fotografía”, explicó Acevedo, ​“para transformar lo sombrío de los paisajes subutilizados en propuestas arquitectónicas visionarias”. Su fotografía revela el potencial de los espacios públicos abandonados.

Por estas calles bravas: Comunidad y lugar en la fotografía urbana, 2017

Videos

Exhibitions

Photograph of children playing in the water from a fire hydrant by Hiram Maristany
Down These Mean Streets: Community and Place in Urban Photography
May 11, 2017–August 5, 2017
Smithsonian American Art Museum
America’s urban streets have long inspired documentary photographers. After World War II, populations shifted from the city to the suburbs and newly built highways cut through thriving neighborhoods, leaving isolated pockets within major urban centers.