Goodyear #5, Niagara Falls, New York

John Pfahl, Goodyear #5, Niagara Falls, New York, 1989, chromogenic print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Consolidated Natural Gas Company Foundation, 1991.27.3, © 1989, John Pfahl
Copied John Pfahl, Goodyear #5, Niagara Falls, New York, 1989, chromogenic print, sheet: 20 x 24 in. (50.8 x 61.0 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Consolidated Natural Gas Company Foundation, 1991.27.3, © 1989, John Pfahl

Artwork Details

Title
Goodyear #5, Niagara Falls, New York
Artist
Date
1989
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 20 x 24 in. (50.8 x 61.0 cm.)
Copyright
© 1989, John Pfahl
Credit Line
Gift of the Consolidated Natural Gas Company Foundation
Mediums Description
chromogenic print
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — New York — Niagara Falls
  • Architecture — industry — power plant
  • Architecture — industry — Goodyear #5
Object Number
1991.27.3
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1991.27.3

Artwork Description

John Pfahl’s photographs embody the conflict between progress and preservation. Throughout the 1980s he focused on oil refineries and power plants. He chose sites strategically based on their location in picturesque settings, where he observed a “transcendental” connection between industry and nature. Goodyear #5 complicates popular notions of power plants by revealing an uncommonly beautiful view of a sometimes controversial structure.


A Democracy of Images: Photographs from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2013