Opening in Washington D.C.’s National Building Museum this Saturday is Richard Ross’s exhibition, The Architecture of Authority. With this body of work, American photographer Richard Ross presents unsettling pictures of architectural spaces that each exert a kind of power over the individual. From a Montessori preschool to churches and mosques, to an interrogation room at Guantánamo and segregation cells at Abu Ghraib, Ross’s photographs reflect the state of our post 9/11 world—one in which he believes the public has become accustomed to the abuse of power, erosion of individual liberty, illegitimate authority, and constant surveillance.

In this video, Richard Ross highlights the physical relationship between the viewer and his images. Ross also gives insight into his new project, Suitable Placement: Juvenile Justice in America.

Click here to view more artist interviews from Aperture.

Richard Ross: Attention to a Larger Context from Aperture Foundation on Vimeo.

In this video, Richard Ross talks about how images from his project Architecture of Authority attempt to change perceptions of our social surroundings. Using as examples communication rooms in both religious and incarceration spaces, he points out how both evoke feelings of intimacy in order to extract confessions. Ross’s images highlight the manipulative aspect of architecture as it is made to answer various, and often unsaid, goals in every type of space.

The exhibition Architecture of Authority was recently on view at Aperture Gallery and will be opening at The Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Overland Park, Kansas on Friday, September 19, 2008. With this body of work American photographer Richard Ross presents unsettling pictures of architectural spaces that each exert a kind of power over the individual. From a Montessori preschool, to churches and mosques, to an interrogation room at Guantánamo and segregation cells at Abu Ghraib, Ross’s photographs reflect the state of our post 9/11 world—one in which he believes the public has become accustomed to the abuse of power, erosion of individual liberty, illegitimate authority, and constant surveillance.

See book here.

Richard Ross: Abu Ghraib and Access from Aperture Foundation on Vimeo.
In this video clip, Richard Ross speaks about his experience documenting the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, revealing a disturbing observation made while photographing there. Ross also explains how he gained access to so many official and confidential spaces typically inaccessible to both the public and press.

The exhibition Architecture of Authority is currently on view at Aperture Gallery through July 31st. With this body of work American photographer Richard Ross presents unsettling pictures of architectural spaces that each exert a kind of power over the individual. From a Montessori preschool, to churches and mosques, to an interrogation room at Guantánamo and segregation cells at Abu Ghraib, Ross’s photographs reflect the state of our post 9/11 world—one in which he believes the public has become accustomed to the abuse
of power, erosion of individual liberty, illegitimate authority, and constant surveillance.

Richard Ross: Structures of Socialization from Aperture Foundation on Vimeo.

Watch an interview with Richard Ross during the installation of his exhibition at Aperture Gallery: Architecture of Authority. In this clip, Ross gives a guided tour of several images from the show, highlighting the dialogue between two photos in particular—one taken at a military camp and the other at a mental institution. Ross also explains how being the son of a police officer has influenced his work on this project.

The exhibition Architecture of Authority is currently on view at Aperture Gallery through July 31st. With this body of work American photographer Richard Ross presents unsettling pictures of architectural spaces that each exert a kind of power over the individual. From a Montessori preschool, to churches and mosques, to an interrogation room at Guantánamo and segregation cells at Abu Ghraib, Ross’s photographs reflect the state of our post 9/11 world—one in which he believes the public has become accustomed to the abuse of power, erosion of individual liberty, illegitimate authority, and constant surveillance.

Architecture of Authority, Photographs by Richard Ross
Opening Reception:
Thursday, May 22, 7:00–9:00 p.m.

Exhibition on View:
Friday, May 23, 2008–Thursday, July 31, 2008

Aperture Gallery
547 West 27th Street, 4th floor
(between 10th and 11th Avenue)
New York, NY
(212) 505-5555

Free and open to the public.

With seemingly limitless access—American photographer Richard Ross has been making unsettling and thought-provoking pictures of architectural spaces that exert power over the individuals within them. These compelling, sometimes disturbing, images are brought together here, on view through July 31st

Toddler classroom, Montessori Center School, Goleta, California

Seventieth Precinct house, New York Police Department, Brooklyn

Booking bench, Los Angeles Police Department, Fifth and Wall Street station

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