Charlie Milgrim’s digital photo series “Ruins” is an extension of her “Bethlehem” series from last year. Located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the decommissioned Bethlehem Steel factory endures as an unexpected public attraction, romanticizing America’s industrial legacy. Milgrim continues her exploration of the monumental yet delicate remains of the factory that produced steel for many of the 20th century’s iconic structures, such as the Empire State Building and the Golden Gate Bridge. By creating seductive images from this decaying reminder of our former industrial power, she is making a correlation between its obsolescence and fragility and the decline of our American Empire. CHARLIE MILGRIM is a multimedia artist from New York City. She moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in her 20’s to attend the California College of the Arts, and later received her MFA from UC Berkeley. She has since participated in the Bay Area alternative arts community through exhibition and curation and has been a member of the Mercury 20 Gallery for the past 9 years. Charlie’s work examines the ties and lies between history, culture, and survival. She works with a wide range of materials, from photography to tar paper made three dimensional to precariously arranged bowling balls. Her work has been reviewed in the San Francisco Chronicle, ART Ltd, and in a spotlight review in the New Yorker magazine, among other publications . |