Public Access - David Horvitz, Ed Steck

Published by David Horvitz.
Pages: 94
Size: 17.7 x 24 cm
Binding: Softcover
This project was originally commissioned by SF Camerawork for an exhibition with the writer Ed Steck (a close friend of Horvitz). A new version Steck's text concludes the publication. This was designed by Miya Osaki.

In 2009 + 2010 Californian artist David Horvitz drove up the entire California coast with various friends. The trip started at the beach just north of the Mexican American border and ended in Oregon at Pelican State Beach. Along the way Horvitz made photographs of over 50 different state beaches. In each photograph he stood anonymously on the sand looking out at the ocean, reminiscent of Bas Jan Ader or Caspar David Friedrichsen. The photographs were then uploaded to each of the specific beach's Wikipedia page to illustrate the articles. An example is Borderfield State Park. His intention was for these images to become the visual meta data for the specific beaches, and for the images to openly circulate as they are sourced and resourced online. At one point a discussion emerged on Wikipedia discussing the legitimacy of his photographs. This resulted with many of the photographs being deleted. This is the second book of the Public Access project. It contains photographs, scans of Wikipedia articles, and the complete conversation from Wikipedia discussing Horvitz's image. It also contains various texts written by Horvitz about the project, as well as personal stories about the California coast.