Amache, Colorado
Artist
Joan Myers
(American, born 1944)
Date1985 (printed 1988)
MediumPlatinum- palladium print
DimensionsImage: 14 1/2 × 18 3/4 in. (36.8 × 47.6 cm)
Support: 18 × 23 in. (45.7 × 58.4 cm)
Support: 18 × 23 in. (45.7 × 58.4 cm)
ClassificationsPhotograph
Credit LineGift of Joan Myers, 2017
Object number2017.5.12
DescriptionRemains of a building foundation in a Western landscapeeMuseum Notes
Throughout her series Whispered Silences, Myers uses the camera to convey the solemn,
isolated landscapes of former Japanese internment camps, highlighting physical
ruins and abandoned objects. This image features the desolate site of a former
bath and latrine building, with only its concrete foundation remaining. The
emotional weight of the site’s history is echoed in tonal contrasts and details
such as the dried earth, exposed construction and looming, bare tree limbs.
Located
near the small community of Granada in southeastern Colorado, the Granada War
Relocation Center (also called Camp Amache) opened in 1942 and reached a peak
population of more than 7,000 people by the beginning of the following year. It
was the smallest relocation camp and most of the residents were from
California. The abandoned site was designated a National Historic Site in 2006
and its sole remaining original building is a pump house.
On View
Not on viewTerms
- landscape architecture
- camps (temporary settlements)
- incarcerating
- world wars
- patriotism
- concentration camps
