(Chicago, Illinois, 1945 - October 27, 2017)
From the series "Nuclear Enchantment"
1990
Ilfocolor print
20 x 24 in. (50.8 x 61.0 cm)
Collection of the Akron Art Museum
Gift of George Stephanopoulos
2007.113
While driving by a stretch of Navajo tract homes in Shiprock, New Mexico, Nagatani learned that 1.7 million tons of tailings were piled along 72 acres stretching into the center of the town, which has a population of 20,000. In the foreground a visitor spreads a foldout, postcard-like photograph of the view directly behind him. This image of Shiprock (known as “Bida Hi” or “rocks with wings” by the Navajo) suggests a loss of the blue-skies and beautiful land.