Documerica, Self-Portrait of a Nation on the Brink

Landscapes disfigured by industry, nature disfigured by mountains of rubbish and scrap cars: ‘Documerica’ paints an unsparing picture of the USA. ‘Documerica’ is the name of a photography programme run by the US Environmental Protection Agency in the 1970s. The aim was to photographically document the dramatic ecological state of the country. From 1972, around one hundred photographers travelled the United States. Their photographs show the society of the time and its living conditions as a disturbing mosaic. Tens of thousands of pictures were taken at the time, but they were forgotten. Now we revisit the project with some of the photographers involved.