The 49 States
For The 49 States, Jensen traveled virtually through the continental United States by means of Google Street View, an online mapping tool that provides 360-degree panoramic views of locations throughout the world. The artist chose one image from each of the forty-nine states covered by Street View when he was working on the project, using image-processing software to adjust color and contrast, straighten perspectives, and fill in gaps. The resulting images are ordered alphabetically by state abbreviation. The square format recalls the look of color snapshots made with instamatic cameras in the 1960s, when American vacationers took to the roads in record numbers. While the work memorializes the age of the great American road trip, it also signals a new understanding of the landscape as a virtual space to be explored by the armchair traveler parked in front of a computer.
Artwork Details
- Title: The 49 States
- Artist: Matthew Jensen (American, born 1980)
- Date: 2008–9
- Medium: Chromogenic prints
- Dimensions: Image: 35.6 x 35.6 cm (14 x 14 in.), each
Frame: 15 × 15 in. (38.1 × 38.1 cm), each (approximately) - Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Purchase, Vital Projects Fund Inc. Gift, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2010
- Object Number: 2010.69a–ww
- Rights and Reproduction: © Matthew Jensen
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Man Ray
1920
Andrew Bush
1993
Man Ray
1923
Richard Prince
1989
Gordon Matta-Clark
1974
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.