Nixon Gift Vault, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, Maryland, from An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar

Taryn Simon, Nixon Gift Vault, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, Maryland, from An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007, archival inkjet print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2014.26.2A-B, © 2007, Taryn Simon
Copied Taryn Simon, Nixon Gift Vault, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, Maryland, from An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, 2007, archival inkjet print, A: 37 1⁄4 × 44 1⁄2 in. (94.6 × 113.0 cm) B: 9 × 4 1⁄2 in. (22.9 × 11.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2014.26.2A-B, © 2007, Taryn Simon

Artwork Details

Title
Nixon Gift Vault, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, Maryland, from An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar
Artist
Date
2007
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
A: 37 1⁄4 × 44 1⁄2 in. (94.6 × 113.0 cm) B: 9 × 4 1⁄2 in. (22.9 × 11.4 cm)
Copyright
© 2007, Taryn Simon
Credit Line
Gift of the artist and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums Description
archival inkjet print
Classifications
Keywords
  • Portrait male — Nixon, Richard
  • Object — art object — painting
  • Object — furniture — desk
  • Object — furniture — bookcase
  • Object — written matter
Object Number
2014.26.2A-B
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2014.26.2A-B

Artwork Description

In her photographic series An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, Taryn Simon presents scenes of the United States usually kept from general view. Her subjects relate to important aspects of American life -- including security, governance, entertainment and health -- offering rare visual access to places like a nuclear waste facility, the CIA's art gallery, or the contraband room of an airport. This image, one of sixty-two in the series, shows the vault at the U.S. National Archives in College Park, Maryland, holding materials related to President Richard M. Nixon's administration. Simon's pictures are always accompanied by text, which identifies the subject and offers a glimpse of the research, preparation, and diplomatic effort required to take the photograph. Making the series was a four-year process. In her dogged pursuit of the normally unseen, Simon has said she "wanted to confront the divide between public and expert access."