Michael P. Berman, White House 08F.255

Michael P. Berman
born 1956 New York City, New York; lives Silver City, New Mexico
White House 08F.255
2008
carbon pigment print on paper
32 x 40 in.
lent by the artist, © 2020 Michael Berman
photo courtesy of the artist

This abandoned ranch house is located just outside of the White Sands Missile Range and just north of the Trinity site. The mystery surrounding Michael Berman's landscape is intensified by the formality of a massive open space surrounding a small, pristine building.

The photograph presents many questions. Were the residents forced to leave because of contamination left from the Trinity blast? Were they ranchers whose land was taken by eminent domain? Is the site just too remote and isolated to be habitable?