Join us on the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks by Al Qaeda upon the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center to celebrate Richard Gordon’s new book of photographs which graphically explore the most profound legacy of that tragedy, the USA Patriot Act, which gives Big Brother the ability to practically invade any and all private surveillance mechanisms at any time, for any reason.

Richard’s images hit the sweet spot where documentary and fine art intersect. They are surely a record of how ubiquitous the silent machines are that record our every movement and sound in public. They are also a postmodern exploration of the urban landscape, reminiscent of Lee Friedlander in some ways. They maintain a mood which is reserved and even alienated, leaving room for irony, and judgment within the cavernous space of city life. He is spying upon the spy cameras.

In the end, they engage the viewer in multiple conversations about what it means to be “free”, and what it means to be a lone person among millions. Between those poles is a vast area to explore.

Joining Richard in conversation will be Jake Kosek, professor in the UC Berkeley Geography Department. Jake currently teaches on, science and technology studies, U.S. empire and militarism the cultural politics of nature and identity.

Richard Gordon’s photographs are in museums, library special collections, and historical archives: SFMOMA, NY Public Library, Rosenwald Rare Book Collection, The Corcoran Museum of Art, The Stanford Museum of Art and many others in the U.S. and Europe. He is the author of Meta Photographs, One More for the Road, The Democracy of Light, Counting the House, and a number of hand-made artist’s books, albums, and portfolios, including Only Memory Remains, Souvenir: 28 September 1994 and Satanic Verses. In 1982, he received an N.E.A. fellowship in photography.