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Border Monument No. 257 North View – N32°  32.164’ W117°  46.247’
Border Monument No. 257 North View – N32° 32.164’ W117° 46.247’
Border Monument No. 257 North View – N32°  32.164’ W117°  46.247’

Border Monument No. 257 North View – N32° 32.164’ W117° 46.247’

Artist (American, born 1965)
Date2009 (printed 2011)
Mediumpigment print
DimensionsImage: 21 3/4 × 29 1/4 in. (55.2 × 74.3 cm)
Frame: 30 1/2 × 37 1/2 × 1 3/4 in. (77.5 × 95.3 × 4.4 cm)
Support: 29 × 36 in. (73.7 × 91.4 cm)
ClassificationsPhotograph
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds from the Herzstein Family Acquisition Endowment Fund and donation from David Taylor and James Kelly Contemporary, 2013
Object number2013.10.1
DescriptionCorrugated metal barrier with doorway at center through which is seen part of a white obelisk in foreground and landscape and sky in background. Numerals 1734 in white on both sides of doorway with standing man in profile wearing green uniform and ball cap with U.S. Customs and Border Protection patch at left of doorway.
Text Entries
In his series Working the Line, the artist set out to document 276 obelisks that mark the international boundary between the United States and Mexico. The monuments, installed between 1892 and1895, are situated along the boundary from El Paso/Juarez to San Diego/Tijuana. During the course of the project, Taylor negotiated an unusual level of access to border operations from the U.S. side. While photographing the monuments from both sides of the border, many of which were difficult to reach due to the remote and challenging terrain, Taylor also photographed the people he encountered: drug smugglers, migrants, border guards, and residents.
On View
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