Wednesday, April 27, 2011

David Alvarez reviews Arthur Ransome

Arthur Ransome










Self-taught Baltimore photographer Arthur Ransome stumbled across a goldmine location to produce beautiful and emotionally stirring photographs, when he moved to Maryland in 2005. The place was Forest Haven, an abandoned juvenile and mentally challenged facility that was closed by federal decree following claims of patient abuse in 1991. The images posted above are just a few that he have been created during his exploration of the facilities; which has sense been closed off to the public.


I found this artist featured in the newest issue of B&W; and in the article Ransome stated that the place was 'rich in eerie visuals created by the ravages of time and neglect, and his challenge would be to somehow avoid the clichés. It seems that, in my opinion, the artist accomplished his goal. On his website there is an excerpt from one of the patient files that he found strewn about the hospital; the article helps bring even more content and emotion to his already powerful imagery.

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