Peter Goin

Peter Goin by Victoria Vallis The Nevada State Museum in Carson City had a lecture and slide show given by Peter Goin, an American photographer on November 21, 2013. Goin is currently a Foundation Professor of Art in Photography at the University of Nevada Reno, and is the author and coauthor of numerous books about the landscapes of the American West, specifically the Nevada landscape. His newly released book, “Black Rock” was discussed as well as a brief history into other projects Goin has worked on. Goin is also co-author of the Atlas of the New West, a collaborative effort with members of the Center of the American West and the seminal Black Rock, a dedicated investigation of the phenomenal desert region in northern Nevada. After moving to Nevada, he became fascinated with the basin-and-range environment. He enjoyed the fact that much of Nevada belongs to the Bureau of Land Management and is removed from private ownership making it open for camping, exploring, and photographing. Intrigued by the effects of humans on the landscape, Goin uses photography to depict landscapes that have been altered. In his book Nuclear Landscapes, Goin presents photographs of various nuclear test sites and power facilities that have been abandoned and the effects these sites and facilities have on the surrounding area. Additionally, Goin authored "Tracing the Line: A Photographic Survey of the Mexican-American Border," "Nuclear Landscapes," "Stopping Time: A Rephotographic Survey of Lake Tahoe. He served as editor of a fifth book, "Arid Waters: Photographs from the Water in the West Project." Goin is also co-author of numerous books, including the "Atlas of the New West," a collaborative effort with members of the Center of the American West at the University of Colorado at Boulder; "A Doubtful River," a project that examines the complex watershed of the Newlands Project, the first federal irrigation dam; and "Changing Mines in America," reinterpreting the legacy and importance of mining landscapes throughout the United States. "Black Rock," describes a previously neglected region of desert in Northern Nevada. Black Rock Institute Press also published, "Nevada Rock Art," Goin's focused study on Nevada's petroglyphs and pictographs. Goin authored "South Lake Tahoe: Then & Now." displaying his long-standing work studying Lake Tahoe. Goin co-authored a two book project with the University of California Press, "A Field Guide to California Agriculture" and "The Nature of California Agriculture" with Paul Starrs, geography professor. Writings and photographs feature more than 75,000 farms and ranches to make up an informative guide to California’s nearly 400 crops, vineyards, cattle, dairy and other ventures, are all covered within the book’s 506 pages. The coauthors have first hand knowledge as Goin’s father had worked as a seasonal farmworker in California, and Starrs was once worked on a ranch. Field Guide to California Agriculture is about crops, and also contains a perspective on California's vast agricultural districts and a fabulous array of photographs, called "The Paradox and Poetics of Agriculture". Antique photographs of Lake Tahoe, America’s most pristine Alpine Lake, made from glass plate negatives that date back to the late-1800s, have been preserved for scientific use by Goin, since he published “Stopping Time: A Rephotographic Survey of Lake Tahoe,” in 1992. After “Stopping Time” was published, people who read the book began contacting Goin about old family photographs and negatives of Lake Tahoe they had of the lake and surrounding areas. Rephotographing is going to the site where an old photo was taken and shooting a new picture from the exact same location and angle. Goin said, “Thanks to the generosity of the people who gave us those glass plate negatives, we now have a surprisingly new dramatic and vast archive of nearly 1,000 of these old photos.” Goin further explained,"To rephotograph the lake as it was captured in the old negatives from both land and water, he and his team of students used a 17-foot aluminum boat or traipsed through the Sierra to get the exact same perspective." In conclusion, Goin and Paul F. Starrs served as co-authors for "Black Rock," which describes a region of desert in Northern Nevada that has almost spiritual qualities. Goin presented photographs including one of his own daughter in a small reservoir of water. He compared random parts of nature such the cottonwood trees to famous artist's works equivalent to Jackson Pollock. Goin drew comparisons between the people of Burning Man to Diane Arbus photographs. He considered an elegant feast on the Black Rock plateau to be comparable to the world's first class dining for location, calling it "welcome to nowhere!". The book was presented at this lecture and opened up afterwards for questions. The questions I asked Peter were if he might be interested in photographing the wild mustangs before they all disappear and if so when? His answer was good questions, he might, when he gets around to it. Black Rock, University of Nevada Press, 2005 (coauthor Paul F. Starrs) Black Rock Institute Press, 2010Arid Waters: Photographs From the Water in the West Project, University of Nevada Press, 1992Nuclear Landscapes, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991 Stopping Time: A Rephotographic Survey of Lake Tahoe Nevada Rock Art, Black Rock Institute Press, 2009 South Lake Tahoe: Now & Then, Arcadia, 2009 A Field Guide to California Agriculture, University of California Press, 2010 (coauthor Paul F. Starrs)