Acquisition Alert!

The George Eastman Museum has acquired two pieces for their collection by Michael Koerner, which include Tendrilles #0031, 2015 and DNA #7793L-#7789R, 2018. Located in Rochester, NY, the George Eastman Museum’s collection includes objects from the fields of photography, cinema, photographic and cinematographic technology, and photographically illustrated books.

Michael Koerner (Okinawa, Japan, 1963) is the oldest of five brothers. Due to genetic abnormalities and cancer, he is the only remaining living son. His brothers’ fates (and potentially his own one day) can be linked to their mother, who was eleven years old on August 9, 1945 when the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. She lived in Sasebo, Japan, 45 miles away from the blast. The long-term effects of severe, acute exposure to gamma radiation led to his mother’s death at an early age, and all of his brothers. Koerner’s work explores his family history and genetics through small tintypes, using photographic chemistry to assimilate the bursts and biochemical fallout from the atom bomb.

You can see more of the artist’s work and find more information on the artist on our website.