Finding and Editing Photographs (201)

For his latest work, Alejandro Cartagena sifts through landfills for discarded photographs. Then, with a sharp blade, he excises figures, faces, or other details from the photographs, reconfiguring the original composition by either moving the cut fragments or removing them entirely. The altered photographs remain strangely whole and strikingly familiar, compelling the viewer to consider what gives a photograph meaning. His arrangements reveal that seemingly crucial aspects of an image are both central and incidental to our ability to understand the works. Hear the artist talk about his work.