In 1971, a hundred photographers fanned out across the country as part of the EPA’s Project Documerica to capture America’s sometimes fabled, sometimes fraught relationship with its land.
For ETHEL’s Documerica, I traversed the expansive and wondrous Environmental Protection Agency archives, ultimately using 2700 of the total 22,000 photographs available. I selected images based on the themes and energy in each of the fourteen unique, string-based compositions. The visuals accompany the live performance of ETHEL‘s Documerica, which continues to tour with great acclaim.
See Documerica in motion here.
Directed by Steve Cosson
Produced and Performed by ETHEL
Projection Design: Deborah Johnson for CandyStations
Lighting Design: Chris Kuhl
Set Design: Adrian Jones and Deborah Johnson