subsequent interests are articulated in straightfor-
ward color coupler prints.Picture Windows(com-
pleted in the period from 1978 to 1981), Power
Places(1981–1984),Arcadia Revisited(1985–1987),
Waterfalls(mid-1980s to mid-1990s),Smoke(largely
1988–1990), Compost (early 1990s), Piles (mid-
1990s), andExtreme Horticulture(late 1990s and
early 2000s) all reflect a commitment to the nuanced
complexity of photographic truth. Many of these
series are simple enough in content that the title is
quite sufficient as description. Pfahl has photo-
graphed falling water, smoke issuing from industrial
stacks, views framed by large windows, piled accu-
mulations of various natural and man-made materi-
als (in Compost as well as Piles), and natural
landscapes inflected by the presence of nuclear or
conventional power plants with a passionate, typo-
logical consistency that calls to mind the work of
Roger Mertin, a colleague of Pfahl’s who taught at
the University of Rochester in New York.Arcadia
Revisited, which fondly and painstakingly considers
the Niagara River and Niagara Falls as an often
depicted, deeply romanticized setting, and his most
recent work recording remarkable horticultural
landscapes suggest his interest in both cultural and
natural history.
Since the idea of landscape is a combination of
nature and art, it is fitting that Pfahl has also con-
tinued to consider the presence of the artist’s hand
within the final photographic piece. InVideo Land-
scapes(1981) he directly photographed televised views
of landscapes, and printed the results in platinum/
palladium, giving remarkable pictorial weight and
beauty to backdrops for such shows asFantasy Island
andMasterpiece Theater.Permutations on the Pictur-
esqueis a historical exploration of photographic form
and content; scenes similar to those William Henry
Fox Talbot and other nineteenth century artists cap-
turedbyhandwiththecameralucidadrawingaid
appear in Pfahl’s hands as ‘‘digitally enhanced’’ inkjet
prints, in which the hand of the computer is made
visible in select areas either through obvious pixella-
tion or other manipulation.Submerged Petroglyphs
from 1984 show a New Mexican reservoir that has
covered over a set of ancient rock drawings. Pfahl has
placed an alpha-numeric code on the water’s surface
marking where each submerged image could be
found, finishing what he describes as a ‘‘memorial
pilgrimage’’ to ‘‘drowned’’ art-making sites. (These
pieces were included in a 1988 publication,Marks in
Place.) Missile/Glyphs (1984–1985) arose from the
Submergedseries; Pfahl created Cibachrome diptychs
that combine images of still-visible rock drawings
with close-up views of weapons in the National
Atomic Museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
As Cheryl Brutvan wrote in her note onMissile/
GlyphsinA Distanced Land, ‘‘Perhaps it is not so
surprising after all to find the combination of
ancient drawings and obsolete weapons compati-
ble: they are both inadequate means of communica-
tion in the contemporary world.’’ Pfahl’s ongoing
quest as an artist, historian, and humanist has been
to articulate in photographic images the relation-
ships between lived and viewed experience.
GeorgeSladeSeealso:Adams, Ansel; Color Temperature; Con-
structed Reality; Photographic ‘‘Truth’’; Polaroid
CorporationBiography
Born in New York City, 17 February 1939. Attended Syr-
acuse University, Syracuse, New York, B.F.A., School
of Art, 1961, M.A., School of Communications, 1968.
Professor, School of Photographic Arts and Sciences,
Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New
York, 1968–1985. Visiting Professor, University of
New Mexico, Albuquerque, 1983–1984. Adjunct Profes-
sor, University of Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, 1986–
present. Associated with Robert Freidus Gallery and
New York Nina Freudenheim Gallery; Buffalo, New
York, late 1970s; Janet Borden Gallery, New York,- Received Creative Arts Public Service grants in
1975 and 1979; National Endowment for the Arts
Photography Fellowship, 1977 and 1990; Honorary
Doctorate of Fine Arts from Niagara University, 1990.
Living in Buffalo, New York.
Individual Exhibitions
1970 University of New Hampshire; Durham, New Hamp-
shire
1973 East Tennessee State University; Johnson City, Ten-
nessee
1976 Deja Vue Gallery; Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Altered Landscapes; Visual Studies Workshop,
Rochester, New York
1978 Altered Landscapes; Robert Freidus Gallery, New York
Photographs of Altered Landscapes; Princeton Univer-
sity Art Museum, Princeton, New Jersey
1980 Picture Windows; Visual Studies Workshop, Roche-
ster, New York
1981 Color Photographs by John Pfahl; The Friends of
Photography, Carmel, California Picture Windows;
Grapestake Gallery, San Francisco, California
1982 Picture Windows; Film in the Cities Gallery, St. Paul,
Minnesota
1983 Paesaggi alterati; Adriana Milla Gallery, Milan, Italy
Power Places; The Museum of Contemporary Photo-
graphy, Columbia College, Chicago, Illinois, and travel-
ing
1984 John Pfahl: Nineteenth Century Video Landscapes;
Center for Contemporary Photography, Santa Fe, New
MexicoPFAHL, JOHN