What began as an initial desire by Eli Durst to photograph the insides of church basements quickly expanded into a much broader series examining the f…
What began as an initial desire by Eli Durst to photograph the insides of church basements quickly expanded into a much broader series examining the fundamental search for community in America. The activities depicted in his series “The Community” range from Boy Scout meetings to New Age spiritual practices to corporate team-building exercises and were all made in multipurpose community spaces that are ubiquitous throughout the United States. “I became intrigued by the way one activity bleeds into another,” writes Durst, “creating a symbolic space of communal introspection. Put simply, these photographs are about the search for purpose and meaning in a world that both demands and resists interpretation.”
This month, we feature our annual August project, Photographers on Photographers, where visual artists interview colleagues they admire. Thank you to all who have participated for their time, energies and for efforts. Today we are happy to share this interview with Lindley Warren Mickunas‘ interview with Eli Durst. – Aline Smithson and Brennan Booker I
This month, we feature our annual August project, Photographers on Photographers, where visual artists interview colleagues they admire. Thank you to all who have participated for their time, energies and for efforts. Today we are happy to share this interview with Lindley Warren Mickunas‘ interview with Eli Durst. – Aline Smithson and Brennan Booker
Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Eli Durst graduated with a BA from Wesleyan University in 2011, where he majored in American studies and French stud…
Photographer Eli Durst has won the 2016 Aperture Portfolio Prize for his series “In Asmara.” The prize, which includes $3,000 and an exhibition at Aperture Gallery in New York, is intended to identify trends in contemporary photography and highlight artis
“In Asmara” documents Durst’s time visiting the capital city of East African country Eritrea. The city is renowned for its large collection of intact modernist buildings, however, Durst’s series documents the life going on around the buildings—a trash dump, a table set for dinner, the backseat of a car.