Seth Price, installation view, MoMA PS1, 2018. Photo: Ron Amstutz
This recent series of large-scale photographs by Seth Price (American, b. 1973) depicts magnified details of human skin in high resolution, bearing only the first names of the people who served as the artist’s models. Presented as a discrete installation, these abstract portraits of people of various ages, genders, and races document portions of each subject’s body in extreme detail. Using a robotic camera typically deployed for scientific research or forensic study, Price captured thousands of high-definition images in a single sitting, focusing on a specific area such as the arm or leg. The resulting images were subsequently stitched together using satellite-imaging software, run through a 3D graphics program, and adjusted by a fashion retoucher. Printed on fabric and stretched over commercial light boxes, these digital skins take on an inner light, fusing human warmth with a screen-like glow.
