Jasmine Clark photographs, 2013-2017

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Summary

Abstract:
Titled "After Eisenhower" in reference to the outgoing President's speech about military power, this body of work by photographer Jasmine Clark consists of 36 16x20 inch color inkjet photographs of signs, symbols, slogans, and advertising that permeate the streets and outdoor spaces of military-based towns. The images convey complex themes of patriotism, Christianity, masculinity and feminity, and other iconographic expressions of "Middle America" culture. Acquired by the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
Extent:
1.5 Linear Feet (1 flat box)
Language:
Materials in English
Collection ID:
RL.11525

Background

Scope and content:

Titled in reference to outgoing President Eisenhower's speech regarding the dangers of military power, this collection consists of 36 16x20 inch color inkjet photographs from the documentary project "After Eisenhower" by photographer Jasmine Clark. Clark documented signs, symbols, slogans, murals and advertising that permeate the streets and outdoor spaces of an anonymous military town or towns. No locations are recorded for the photographs, but they were all or almost all taken in California. The images convey complex themes of patriotism, Christianity, masculinity and femininity, and other iconographic expressions of "Middle America" culture.

From the artist's statement: "The photographs in 'After Eisenhower' are influenced by my upbringing in a United States Marine Corps community in Twentynine Palms, California...My sister and I were exposed to the ideologies of American patriotism and nationalism. We learned the critical distinction between the two; namely, that the embedded framework of American nationalism is inseparable from and in service to the systemic cultural narrative that brown skin and other physical characteristics are negative."

"The military is intertwined in the established patriotic, national and Christian identity. How is patriotism learned and sustained without any direct military relationship and in a society that oppresses any aspect of your identity? President Dwight D. Eisenhower's farewell presidential address warned about the implications of military power and its impact on American culture. In response to my curiosities and Eisenhower's warning, my work probes how American patriotic identity manifests when its symbols, e.g., the national anthem and the American flag, are conflated with complex and polarizing issues such as racial discrimination, religion, gender identity, and nationalism. The saturation of these oversimplified messages is disconcerting. They are meant to have clear meanings. However, these places and artifacts suggest more problematic truths about American life and our relationship to our military."

For her work "After Eisenhower," Clark received the Archive of Documentary Arts Award for Emerging Documentarians in 2017.

Acquired by the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.

Biographical / historical:

Jasmine Clark is an artist based in Chicago, Illinois. Clark, the daughter of military parents, was born and raised in Twentynine Palms, San Bernardino, California, home of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC). In 2010, she earned her BFA in Photography from California State University Long Beach in Long Beach, CA and an MFA in Photography in 2016 from Columbia College Chicago in Chicago, IL.

She has exhibited her work at venues such as Aperture Foundation, Hyde Park Art Center, and Newspace Center for Photography.

Clark is the 2017 winner of the Archive of Documentary Arts Award for Emerging Documentarians.

Acquisition information:
The Jasmine Clark photographs were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase in 2017.
Processing information:

Processed by Yuqiao Cao, October 2017.

Accession(s) described in this finding aid: 2017-0152.

Physical facet:
36 prints
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Images may only be used for educational, non-commercial purposes; any other use requires the photographer's permission.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48 hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Jasmine Clark photographs, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.