Christopher Sims photographs, 2005-2018

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Summary

Abstract:
Christopher Sims is a documentary photographer from Atlanta, Georgia, currently on the faculty at Duke University, Durham, N.C. The 71 color digital photographs in this collection appear in his book, The Pretend Village: Inside the U.S. Military Training Grounds (2021). The photographs were taken by Sims from 2005-2018 at fictitious Iraqi and Afghan villages constructed on U.S. Army bases in remote areas of North Carolina and Louisiana, and in Death Valley, California. Images taken between military training exercises show actors, many of them real-life immigrant Afghans and Iraqis, playing police officers, doctors, craftspeople, farmers, and café owners. Images taken during training include American soldiers in motion or at rest, fictional civilians and insurgents, and simulations of dead or wounded soldiers and civilians. Other images are of buildings, streets, fake interiors, props, rubble, and graffiti and murals. The inkjet prints measure 17x22 inches. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
Extent:
3 Linear Feet (3 boxes)
Language:
English
Collection ID:
RL.11919

Background

Scope and content:

The 71 17x22-inch color digital photographic prints in this collection were created by Christopher Sims, author, academic, and documentary photographer based in Durham, North Carolina, and used to illustrate his book, The Pretend Village: Inside the U.S. Military Training Grounds, published in 2021. The photographs, taken between 2005-2018, document the landscapes, people, buildings, interiors, and daily activities at fictitious Iraqi and Afghan villages constructed on the training grounds of U.S. Army bases in remote areas of North Carolina and Louisiana, and in Death Valley, California.

Images taken between military training exercises show actors, many of them real-life immigrant Afghans and Iraqis hired by the U.S. Army, playing police officers, doctors, craftspeople, family members, religious leaders, farmers, and café owners. Images taken during training include American soldiers in motion or at rest, fictional civilians and insurgents, and simulations of dead or wounded soldiers and civilians. Other images are of buildings, streets, fake interiors, props, rubble, and graffiti and murals. The prints measure 17x22 inches.

Biographical / historical:

Christopher Sims (1972- ), photographer, documentarian, and faculty member at Duke University, was born in Michigan and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He is currently the Undergraduate Education Director at the Center for Documentary Studies and an Associate Professor of the Practice at the Sanford School of Public Policy, both at Duke University.

Acquisition information:
The Christopher Sims photographs were acquired as a gift by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library in 2021.
Processing information:

Processed and described by Paula Jeannet, August 2021.

Accession(s) represented in this collection guide: 2021-0062.

Arrangement:

The prints are arranged in order by the photographer as they appear in the published photobook.

Physical facet:
71 prints
Dimensions:
17x22 inches
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research

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 or page number], Christopher Sims photographs, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m16t72