Brad Temkin
Vanishing – Chicago
From the series Rooftop
2009
Pigment print
32 x 40 inches
Courtesy of the Artist and Stephen Bulger Gallery
© Brad Temkin

The contemporary human relationship to landscape has been an ongoing topic of study for Chicago-based artist Brad Temkin, particularly in his series on residential backyards and gardens. In his newest work, Rooftop, Temkin shifts from the private to the public sphere, photographing plantings on the tops of buildings. Intrigued by the “gardens” planted on the roofs of Chicago’s civic towers, Temkin initially focused on the irony that most of them, though on public property, are almost completely inaccessible, seen by only a few caretakers and office workers looking out the windows of adjacent buildings. As the series has progressed, however, he has come to appreciate these hidden gems for their unexpected beauty and environmental purpose. “I am building a compendium of photographs that will show the significance and positive effects of green roofs and rooftop gardens while revealing their function and visual sanctuary,” the artist writes.