Seph Lawless
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| Born |
1975 (age 39–40) Cleveland, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Residence | Cleveland, Ohio |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Photographer |
| Years active | 2001-present |
| Website | |
|
sephlawless | |
Seph Lawless (born 1975)[1] is a pseudonymous American photographer, best known for his photos of urban decay and abandoned spaces across the United States.
Early life
Lawless was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and briefly raised in Detroit, Michigan, before returning to Cleveland, where he resides as of 2014.[2][3] His father was a longtime worker at Ford Motor Company; through him, Lawless witnessed the collapse of the once-thriving American auto industry.[4][5]
Career
In 2012 and 2013, Lawless photographed man-made desolation, forgotten landscapes and other symbols of industrial decline in the Rust Belt and across the rest of the United States. He took approximately 3,000 images and 17 hours of video footage that he used in in his 2014 book, Autopsy of America.[1][4][6]
A follow-up collection, Black Friday: The Collapse of the American Shopping Mall, contains photos from late 2013 through April 2014,[5] and documents the demise of old symbols of American commercialism, homing in on abandoned, decaying and boarded-up shopping malls.[2][7] Lawless photographed abandoned malls in Michigan and Ohio,[8] focusing on the abandoned Rolling Acres Mall in Akron, Ohio, built in 1975 and closed in 2008, and the Randall Park Mall in North Randall, Ohio, which had been the world's largest shopping center at the time of its opening in the 1970s, and which closed in 2009.[9][10][11]
In 2014, Lawless's photos of abandoned malls were featured in segments on CNNMoney,[8] and he was also interviewed about the photos by Greta Van Susteren on Fox News.[5] Cleveland Magazine named Lawless one of its Most Interesting People 2015.[12] His work has been exhibited internationally in Munich.[13]
In 2014, Lawless released 13: An American Horror Story, with photos from "haunted" buildings in the United States.[14][15][16]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Eric Sandy, “The Art of the Autopsy: Photographer Seph Lawless Spends his Days Documenting Decaying Ruins,” Cleveland Scene, August 7, 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 David Uberti, “The death of the American mall,” The Guardian, June 19, 2014.
- ↑ Matthew Newton, "Taking Pictures Of The Dead Shopping Malls Of Our Youth: Images From Suburban America," Thought Catalog, June 9, 2014.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Stephanie Valera, “Ruins of the Rust Belt: Haunting Photos of Abandoned Buildings by Seph Lawless,” Weather.com, February 7, 2014.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Interview with Greta Van Susteren, “From bustling center of prosperity to ghost town,” Fox News, May 2, 2014.
- ↑ Stan Horaczek, “Interview: Seph Lawless’ ‘Black Friday’,” American Photo, April 29, 2014.
- ↑ Jordan G. Teicher, "A Haunting Look Inside Some of America's Abandoned Shopping Malls," Slate, June 22, 2014.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Aaron Smith, "Autopsy of America: Photos of dead shopping malls," CNNMoney, June 30, 2014.
- ↑ Stephanie Valera, “Black Friday: Ghostly Images of Abandoned Malls by Seph Lawless,” Weather.com, May 14, 2014.
- ↑ Adele Peters, "Eerie Photos Of Abandoned Shopping Malls Show The Changing Face Of Suburbia," Fast Company, April 21, 2014.
- ↑ Michael Walsh, "Creepy photos of abandoned shopping malls highlight crumbling communities of the Rust Belt," New York Daily News, April 30, 2014.
- ↑ "Most Interesting People 2015: Seph Lawless," Cleveland Magazine, January 2015.
- ↑ Piorkowski, Jeff (18 December 2014). "Beachwood Library hosts Seph Lawless photo exhibit on decay of American structures, institutions; Cleveland artist gains worldwide recognition". Sun News. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ↑ Piorkowski, Jeff (18 December 2014). "The Gasp Menagerie: Book Catalogs America’s Horror Houses". Dread Central. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ↑ Frank Chung, "Thirteen real life haunted houses and the horror stories that go with them," news.com.au, October 31, 2014.
- ↑ Jordan G. Teicher, "These Are America’s Spookiest Homes," Slate, October 31, 2014.