Daniel W. Coburn: The Hereditary Estate

Daniel W. Coburn: The Hereditary Estate by Aline SmithsonJuly 2, 2014

Daniel W. Coburn is a bright light in the fine art photography world–he’s a wonderfully talented photographer and writer, and has been hard at work on his newest project, a retrospective monograph titled, The Hereditary Estate printed and distributed by Kehrer-Verlag, which will be released in Fall 2014. The Hereditary Estate is not only a ten year retrospective, but also a conceptual work of art. Dan’s work and research “investigates the family photo album employed as the visual infrastructure for the flawed ideology of the American Dream. Frustrated by the lack of images that document the true and sometimes troubling nature of his own familial history, he set out to create a new archive, a potent supplement to the broken family album that exists in the collection of many families. Using photographs made over the last decade, and altered amateur photographs, he weaves a family narrative that is simultaneously beautiful and terrifying. The careful sequencing of these images creates a powerful psychological dialogue designed to inspire an emotional and visceral response from the viewer. The international distribution of this book completes an essential conceptual component of this work, placing this supplementary album into family collections in countries all over the world.” The images are presented with two thoughtful essays contributed by Karen Irvine, Curator and Associate Director at the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, and Kirsten Pai Buick, Associate Professor of Art History at the University of New Mexico.

For a limited time, Daniel is offering a special pre-sale edition of The Hereditary Estate. Proceeds from this sale help finance exhibition opportunities surrounding the release of the book. You can purchase it here.

Today we feature images from one section of the book, Waiting for The Rapture, that examines family and faith.

Daniel W. Coburn lives and works in Lawrence, Kansas. His work and research investigates the family photo album employed as a visual infrastructure for a flawed American Dream. Selections from his body of work have been featured in exhibitions at the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art and the Chelsea Museum of Art in New York. Coburn’s prints are held in collections at the Museum of Contemporary Photography (Chicago), the University of New Mexico Art Museum, the Mulvane Museum of Art, the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art, and the Mariana Kistler-Beach Museum of Art. He has been invited as a guest lecturer at national and international photography events including the International Festival of Photography in Belo Horizonte, Brazil and the Helsinki Photo-Media Conference. Coburn received his BFA with an emphasis in photography from Washburn University. He received his MFA with distinction from the University of New Mexico in 2013. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Photo Media at the University of Kansas.

Lovers Embrace ©Daniel Coburn

Waiting for Rapture

Quiet suffering occurs within a family unit living under the auspices of the ideal American Dream. A psychologically violent relationship with loved ones, and an immersive cult-like experience with an evangelical Christian church contributed to my loss of spiritual and domestic faith.

These issues take center-stage in a story that emerges from the walls of a single-family sanctuary and unfolds onto a Midwest landscape. In my story, these characters exist at the intersection of domestic duress and spirituality.

I photograph my family in parables of love, reverie, respect and quiet tragedy. These images are a tangible manifestation of fantasy, memories and experiences acquired during my journey to adulthood, and function as a supplement to the family album assembled by my parents.