Photo By Gail

By photographing the interior scene depicted in Missing Children (Captiva) (1988) at eye level and printing the image at life scale, JoAnn Verburg provides a point of entry for the viewer: one can easily imagine sitting at this table. At first glance, the work depicts a cheerful, everyday moment; yet the milk carton’s images and descriptions of missing children inject the dangers of the world outside into the intimate setting. Verburg explains that the photograph involves “putting a lyrical, private moment together with difficulty — the political, public side of life.”

Photographed in the Whitney Museum on NYC.