Jeff Brouws: Silent Monoliths
Robert Mann Gallery is pleased to announce Jeff Brouws: Silent Monoliths, an exhibition by American photographer Jeff Brouws (b. 1955) that showcases his landmark series documenting the architectural remnants of America’s railroad history, featured in his critically acclaimed book Silent Monoliths: The Coaling Tower Project (MIT Press). Acting as a “visual anthropologist,” Brouws utilizes a precise, deadpan typological approach to capture these industrial monuments left behind by technological shifts across the United States.
Between 1907 and 1956, the country’s rapidly growing railway industry constructed hundreds of massive reinforced-concrete structures designed to hold several hundred tons of coal used to fuel steam locomotives. As the industry transitioned from steam to diesel throughout the 1950s, these behemoth structures eventually became obsolete. Although some were torn down, many have remained in place, acting as abandoned witnesses to the rise and fall of American railroading.
Over five years and covering more than 20,000 miles, Brouws systematically documented these dormant, sculptural artifacts: photographing each towering structure under flat, overcast light, he presents these silent monoliths as imposing, monumental testaments to the perplexing contradictions of modern industrialization.